You Are Not Your Past
by IamtheProxy
Summary: Jack never wanted this. He didn't want to die (twice) and he most certainly never asked to be given this much responsibility. But really, what are you supposed to do when the moon ends up deciding your fate for you? How can you say no to the moon?
1. Intro

Mid 1712: Early Spring

The sky above Jack's head was growing darker as the minutes went by. It would be completely dark in an hour or two, and so he started to gather his things strewn around him. He pulled his brown cloak around his shoulders and tied the drawstrings, and then bent down to pick up his shepherds hook.

He had made it himself. The shepherd's hook was Jack's pride. Jack's father had died a few years back, only right after Jack was old enough to look after the sheep. A wolf or some other wild animal had killed his father and many of the sheep that he had been looking after that day. The staff was the last thing that Jack and his father had sat down to work together on. It was one of Jack's only reminders of him.

Jack's younger sister, Emma, doesn't remember their dad. And his mother is often kept busy with the family garden and making clothes and keeping the house clean and many, many other duties that she took on after Jack's father died, that she hardly has the time to mourn him. They all missed him, of course, but the harsh winters and the hardships that came with living in this "new world" often kept everyone so busy that there wasn't much time for personal feelings.

Sighing at his trail of thoughts, Jack shook himself from his stupor and walked around the small herd of sheep to get them traveling back home. Jack and the sheep had only been walking for a few minutes before he noticed someone in the distance. It looked like a person? Jack wasn't completely sure.

Jack continues to walk the sheep towards his home, and the person in the distance was coming closer and closer with each step. The person – a man? - was limping and was right next to the entrance to the trail in the woods that Jack would have to herd the sheep through.

The man had stopped moving now, and was resting against a tree next to the trail entrance, and Jack was growing more and more uneasy with every step he had to take. Jack could only see that his hair was long, greasy, and dark. His skin was an unearthly pale, and he seemed to be emaciated. The man's clothes hung in ragged strips around his body, and he wasn't wearing any shoes. Jack's uneasiness grew.

The sheep started acting strangely, almost skittish. Jack was worried that they would bolt and he would have to hunt them down.

Jack was only about a hundred feet from the man now, and the sheep were antsier than before. Jack paused as he felt a surge of unidentifiable and horrible feelings of pure _fear_. Jack watched in a panic as the man slowly lifted his head and stared at Jack. His face was… monstrous. There were black veins spreading away from his mouth and eyes, and his hands had inch long, _sharp_ , nails. And his eyes, oh god his eyes. They were a shocking color of dark, blood red. They seemed to glow, and the man's body, which was tense and slowly moving away from the tree, seemed to scream that this was a predator, a hunter, a _killer_.

Jack couldn't move, and he just kept staring at the… monster. This wasn't a human. There was no way. No human looked like this. No human could move like that.

Before Jack could blink the man was suddenly right in front of him, and Jack could hear the sheep making scared noises as their hooves were hitting the ground in a sprint. Jack still couldn't move.

The monster slowly leaned towards Jack, and he could hear the thing… sniff? The monster's head backed away for a moment, and it flashed its long sharp teeth before Jack felt his head being pushed back.

Jack tried to fight back and scream as the monster's mouth found its way to his neck, but Jack still couldn't budge a muscle. Jack did manage to whimper when he felt sharp teeth puncture his skin, and _god_ it hurt so much.

Jack's body almost immediately went numb everywhere except for where the... the thing's teeth were puncturing his skin. Jack was terrified as he came to the realization that this thing, this monster… it was a vampire.

This monster was a story told to kids so that they wouldn't stay out too late at night, and to not venture too far out into the woods. They were supposed to be nothing but tall tales though, not stories that actually held merit.

Jack's thoughts were turning sluggish, and he couldn't even feel the vampire's teeth at his neck anymore. His vision was going dark and the blood pulsing in his ears was slowing down. He could almost feel his heart slowing down, until he almost couldn't tell if it was even beating anymore.

 _Please. Please just let my family be okay without me._ The last thing Jack saw before he fell unconscious was a pale face free of black, sickly veins, and a flash of red eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

Mid 1712: Early Spring

Jack's head was pounding as he slowly opened his eyes. The sun was bright and unrelenting against them, and it almost felt like his skin was burning. And was there a sheep nibbling at his head?

Jack sat up slowly and shooed the sheep away. Then he looked down at his hand. Well, his skin isn't burning, but the sun's heat was making him extremely uncomfortable. And…

Did his hand seem paler than normal? Jack just brushed off his worrying.

Why had he fallen asleep? What happened last night? He could've sworn that he had been rounding up the sheep and heading home. Hadn't he gotten to the trail entrance?

Jack looked around, staring at his surroundings. The day was already half way over, and he had a few sheep surrounding him, but not nearly the whole herd.

Jack stood up and looked back at the way he had come from. He couldn't see any white shapes in the distance, and so he guessed they must have wondered into the woods. Jack sighed and rubbed his neck. He felt something there, like four small lumps. Two large ones, and then two smaller ones. He pulled his hand away from his sore neck. He didn't know what kind of insect could give bites like that, but he figured he could have his mother look at it when he got home.

Jack gasped.

Home!

He needed to get back as quick as possible. He promised his mother that he would go hunting for food today so they might be able to actually eat some meat rather than just vegetables and fruits. He should have gotten home last night, and now he guessed that his mother and sister were starting to get worried. He _had_ been gone way longer than planned.

He starts walking the sheep that were currently around him through the trees. He had been walking for about an hour, and he had managed to find a few more of his sheep, but not all. It seemed like they had started making their own way back to the village.

Jack continued to walk further and further into the woods before he realized how thirsty he was. He pulled out a small water pouch that had been hanging from his belt and took a sip of the water inside. It was bitter, and seemed to burn his throat.

Jack started hacking and coughing, and the water came back up from his stomach in the form of bile. He emptied his stomach out onto the forest floor for a few minutes.

 _What on earth…?_ He was even more thirsty than before, and the muscles in is abdomen were cramping with hunger. Jack figured his body reacted like that because of how weak he was feeling, and that he had drank too quickly. So, he decided to try to take another sip.

That was a bad idea.

Jack started retching again, but it didn't last as long as the first time. Jack was confused, and a little scared. Could the insect bite on his neck had been venomous or something? Could he be sick?

Jack quickly kept walking so that he could get home quicker. He estimated that there was only about an hour or so of a walk left before he was back at the village. Maybe more, maybe less. It all depended on if he could find the rest of the sheep quickly.

Jack hadn't been walking for even ten minutes before this… _delicious_ scent hit his nose. It was so very pungent, and his stomach immediately started protesting at the smell. It was almost like it was screaming at him to find the source of the scent and _eat, eat, eat._

Jack laid his hand over his abdomen. His throat was constricting too, but he pushed away these feelings and kept walking. As the scent grew stronger, Jack's pain seemed to double, even triple.

And then all at once, Jack's mind went blank. The scent was slapping him in the face now, and his eyes looked around until they locked on a small cabin about two hundred feet from where he was. He barely made out the outline of it through all of the trees.

His body unconsciously moved, and Jack barely noticed how quickly he seemed to be in front of the cabin. He had only just moved but covered two hundred feet in a second? That thought troubled him for merely a moment before it was pushed to the back of his mind. Jack's main thought was finding the source of that enchanting odor.

It didn't take him long. The window in the front of the building was cracked, and he slowly peaked inside. He saw a woman, holding a rag to her hand. A knife lay discarded on a wooden table, surrounded by half chopped vegetables. The rag around her hand was red. A beautiful crimson.

Jack pushed the window open and jumped through to get into the cabin. The woman noticed him, and made a frightened noise. She opened her mouth to scream as her eyes widened in shock. He wouldn't give her the chance.

His body mechanically moved on its own, and his hand tilted her head up to reveal her neck. Jack's eyes raked over the long tan neck and the veins that pulsed underneath.

 _How am I… seeing her veins? I can smell them? What's happening to me?_ Jack's thoughts didn't stop his body from moving on its own.

His head tilted to her neck, and his mouth widened. His teeth started aching, and Jack felt them press down on his own lips. There were four. Four sharp, protruding teeth. His tongue brushed over them before he bit down right on her jugular. His jaw crushed her windpipe so that she wouldn't be able to scream. He felt the blood hit his face as he tore away the chunk of throat in his mouth before spitting it on the ground. He turned his mouth back to her neck, and started lapping at the blood that was spurting out of the hole in her neck.

Jack drank mouthful after mouthful of the woman's life source. He could feel her heart starting to slow, but he couldn't stop drinking. He could feel the blood pouring down his chin and onto the floor underneath their feet. He could hear the woman's wet, shallow breathing in his ear as he continued to suck at the bite.

Slowly, the sound of her breathing slowing to a stop pushed through his hunger haze. Jack then realized exactly what he had just done. He started breathing heavily, panting. His eyes widened in panic, and he flew back from the woman's body. He couldn't hear her heartbeat anymore.

He couldn't hear it? He could hear it to begin with? Jack was scared, confused, and horrified as to what he had just done and what was occurring inside him.

He watched her body fall against the floor in slow motion. Jack tensed as it did, and stared at the woman's limp form. Jack stood in the corner of the room, as far away from the body has was able for a minute, as he slowly started to piece together what had happened the previous night.

He couldn't believe it. A _vampire?_ Him? Why hadn't he died due to blood loss? Why had he been _changed_ \- Jack's thoughts stopped dead in their tracks as he saw a man enter the room. The man's face was emotionless at first as he stared at Jack. Then he was confused as his eyes slid to Jack's appearance, and then something seemed to click in the man's mind.

Jack watched as the man's eyes slid to the still form on the floor between them. The woman's pallor was an ashen grey, and her skin seemed constricted against her bones. Her eyes were unseeing as they stared up at the ceiling, and her throat was covered in a dark red, almost black layer of blood. Some of it had already coagulated against her skin.

Jack glanced back at the man, and saw him slowly kneel next to the woman's prone body. He looked at her for only a second before Jack heard him wailing. The man's body was shaking with sobs that he wasn't holding back, and Jack saw the tears running down his cheeks as he threw his head back in a loud, ear-shattering scream of rage.

Jack's throat was constricting, and his stomach felt tight again. Not in hunger this time, but anger and hate at himself, and sadness and guilt at the pain he must have been causing this man in front of him. Jack couldn't take being in the same room as him any longer. He had to… he _had_ to get _out._ Now.

Jack whispered, his voice hoarse, "I'm so… I'm sorry." Jack gasped as his throat tightened again. "I'm so, so sorry."

The man didn't even look in Jack's direction. Jack was outside again before he could even blink. He finally realized that he was moving at an inhuman speed. He was feeling sick, and guilty. He felt disgusting.

Jack quickly sprinted and caught up to his sheep that had decided to stay around the cabin, and got them to run through the trail quickly. Jack realized that he could still hear the man wailing through the forest, even though he was over five hundred feet away now.

The sheep were still trotting quickly through the woods, and Jack managed to get almost all of them. He saw the stream that would lead him to the lake that was only a few minutes from the village.

He needed to hurry and get home so he could figure out what to do about his situation and how to… control himself. That's something he _had_ to work on. He would not accidentally kill his mother and sister. Or anyone else in his village.

The stream was growing wider and eventually he found the rest of his herd around one side of the lake. He gathered his sheep around the lake's edge after counting them, and let them eat some of the surrounding grass that had started growing. It was still cool outside from the previous winter, but spring was well on its way. The lake had pretty much all but unfrozen, and the surface was smooth and still except for the small ripples caused by the stream.

Jack kneeled on a rock that was on the edge of the lake and looked down at his reflection. Jack recoiled in horror at first, before peering back into the lake. There was brown, old blood dried onto his mouth and his chin. Some of it had smeared down to his neck. His hair was in disarray, and sticking in every which way. His eyes were a deep red. They were the color of the woman's blood.

But what really made terror crawl up into his heart were the black veins that stretched away from his mouth and his eyes. And his teeth… the fangs that he had felt earlier were still there, and he looked at them by baring his teeth at his reflection. The first two teeth on either side of his top front teeth were long. Very, very long. And sharp.

Very sharp.

His canines were longer and sharper as well. Not as long as the others, but there was still a noticeable difference.

His skin was also paler. Much paler than was usual for him. He usually held a tan skin tone due to the work he had to do, but now, he almost looked grey. Sickly.

Jack felt anger flare up inside of him at the monster who had done this to him. Why? _Why?_ Why did this happen to him? He would rather to have died than to have been made into a monster. He would have wished that-

Jack paused. He watched as the anger inside continued to build, and also saw how the angrier he got, the worse his appearance got. The veins got darker and more noticeable. They were protruding from his skin. His teeth got longer and sharper, and his eyes turned a brighter red. He looked… feral.

He looked like a predator.

Jack dug his nails into his thighs and stopped abruptly as he felt pain. He looked down at his hands and saw that he had long sharp… claws. Each nail was about an inch long and pointed at the tip.

Jack made the connection between his anger and his appearance, and he looked back at his reflection and forced himself to calm down and see things rationally.

He can't do anything about his problem except for to learn how to _deal_ with it. So he would learn. Starting now.

The calmer Jack got, the less… monstrous his appearance became. The veins eventually went away completely, and his teeth went back to "normal." They were still sharper than normal, but looked natural. Human.

His skin took on its more natural tan color. Jack still looked paler than normal, but at least he wasn't grey anymore.

And as Jack watched his eyes return to their natural brown color, he thanked the gods. His nails shrank back to their normal length, and now he felt more in control of himself.

Jack took some of the cool water in his hands and smoothed his hair down. Then he took some more and washed away the blood that was staining his mouth and neck. After he was done, he looked almost completely normal.

Jack ran his hands through his hair again and his palm hit the tip of his ear and he _swears_ that it felt kind of –

Jack swore. His ears. They are pointy. Spiked. At the tip.

He pushed back his hair to look at his ears, and saw that indeed, they were now pointed and just _how_ was he going to hide this? How was he going to hide _all_ of this?

 _One thing at a time, Jack. Take it easy._ Jack breathed in a deep breath, and felt a burning sensation disappear from within his lungs. Had he not been breathing? Does he not need to breathe?

Jack paused at the revelation, and stopped breathing for a minute. He found that while it felt better to breathe due to feeling pain in his lungs, he doesn't _have_ to breathe. Jack also realized that while he could hear the heartbeats of the sheep surrounding him, he couldn't hear his. He couldn't even _feel_ it.

So. Jack doesn't have to breathe, and he no longer has a heartbeat. _Does that mean I'm technically… dead?_

Jack let go of that thought immediately. He may not have a heartbeat or need to breathe, but he has a brain that works, and thoughts running through his mind. He can still feel pain, and emotions. So, to Jack, he is still alive.

Jack sighed and groaned as he rubbed his hands over his face. Jack decided it was time to note all of the differences and how to cover it up.

Pointed ears? Jack can cover the tips with his hair, and grow it out a little to help with that.

Teeth? Just say they were always like that, and if people wondered, he would call them delusional.

Skin? Tell people he isn't feeling very well if they ask. That should get them to leave him alone because they'll think he's sick or something.

Jack figured he would have to make sure he was taking regular breaths so that people don't catch him accidentally not breathing.

Jack also noted how his hearing was enhanced as he could hear heartbeats, and that his eye sight was also much, much better. He could see the grass across the lake clearly. He could distinctly pick out the blades of grass that were taller than the others, and the slight differences in the colors. He could even see a small bug crawling up one of the pieces of grass. He also grasped that the only reason he had been able to round up all of the sheep was because he could smell them.

And oh boy, they smelled even worse than he realized.

Jack looked down at his thighs at the spots where his once sharp nails had dug in through the leather to the skin below. The skin that had been punctured had already scared over.

 _Enhanced healing? That's useful._ Jack looked back at his reflection in the lake.

He needed to practice making sure his appearance didn't start to change in front of someone. So he sat against the rock underneath him all the way and stayed there for a half an hour. Jack continuously changed his appearance back and forth between normal and monstrous.

Jack felt that he had a feel for how to control himself now, and overall, he felt a lot better about his situation. He felt less like a horrible monster, and more like a person again.

So, Jack stood and picked his staff up and herded his group of sheep towards the village.

* * *

The sun had started to slink below the trees as he walked towards his home. He had already put the sheep in the pasture located just outside the house. He sniffed the air and smelled the scent of stew. His mother must be cooking.

Jack paused outside the front door, sighed, and pushed it open. His mother paused her stirring as he walked in, and she smiled at him. She seemed relieved.

"Hello, Ma." Jack shuffled his feet. "I'm sorry for taking so long. I fell asleep in the hills and didn't wake until midday."

"Jackson Overland Frost. I cannot believe how reckless you are." She paused and smiled wider. She dropped the spoon on the table next to her and walked up to him. She looked over his body before reaching up and hugging him. Jack tensed.

He could smell the blood pulsing underneath her skin. He pushed his hunger away. He would _not_ hurt his family.

He hugged her back quickly so as to not arouse suspicion. He held her tight, and he heard her gasp in pain. Jack pulled away quickly, worried that he hurt her. She glanced at him before bending and popping her back.

"You've gotten stronger, Jackson." She slapped his arms playfully and said, "Before long, the village will have you helping around with the heavy lifting." She turned to continue cooking, and picked up the spoon she dropped on the table.

 _So. I'm stronger too. I need to be even more careful. I also can't move too quickly._ Jack sighed internally, and said, "Not that I'm looking forward to that."

His mother laughed quietly. "Yes, you've always had more fun tending to the animals than doing more… laborious work."

Jack didn't say anything. He just sat down at the table and watched his mother cook. She threw in some chopped carrots and what appeared to be some sort of root? He never had really gotten the hang of cooking.

His mother continued to stir the stew that hung over a fire. It smelled delicious, but he knew he wouldn't be able to eat it. If his experience with the couple of sips of water was anything to go off of, then he could no longer eat or drink what he used to. He could only live off of blood.

He would have to pretend to eat or something. Or just come up with excuses. This was going to be hard. Maybe… Maybe he should tell someone?

Jack thought on that. Perhaps that would be a good idea. This would be extremely hard to hide all on his own, and he could use some help. But he didn't _really_ know or even trust anyone in the village other than his mother and Emma.

Jack paused. _Emma_ …

Thrumming his fingers on the edge of the table, he asked his mother quietly, "Where's Emma?"

"She's in the back of the house. Asleep, I believe?" His Ma chuckled to herself. "She stayed up so late last night, worried out of her mind for you. She eventually passed out on her bed. I kept telling her you would be fine and to not get frightened yet. But, God knows, she didn't listen." His mother added what looked to be… potatoes?

Man, cooking was just not his thing. It flew right over his head.

"Alright. I'm going to go wake her then, and let her know I'm back." Jack stood from his seat and walked out of the room. He could hear his ma start to hum to herself.

Jack walked through a short hall to a room in the cabin. There wasn't much privacy in his home due to a lack of doors and the lack of general space. But he and his family had always managed to make it work.

He walked into his sister's room and saw her curled up with a small bunny that their father had made for her before she was born. It never left her side. His little sister seemed so very small and fragile. She had brown hair, just like him. Although her eyes were a darker brown than his.

She was, indeed, asleep. Jack walked over to her bed and slowly sat at the end, by her feet. He nudged her shoulder with his hand.

"Hello, Sleeping beauty. Wake up, it's me."

Jack watched as her eyes went from a drowsy, half-open glance to a wide, happy stare. She giggled and threw herself at him, almost knocking him over. Jack laughed along with her.

"Jack! Where were you? What took so long? Were you hurt? Are the sheep okay? Are _you_ okay? You've been gone for _so_ long, and I didn't know what had happened and I was so worried and-"

"Whoa, whoa, Emma. Calm down. Okay? I'll…"

"What, Jack?" She was watching him. _Am I going to tell her? Am I really going to do this? This could ruin everything…_

"I'm going to tell you." Jack sighed. "Everything." Well, maybe not everything.


	3. Chapter 2

Mid 1712: Early Spring

Emma was sobbing against Jack's shoulder, all while holding him as tight as her little arms could.

At least she wasn't running away from him in terror. That's always a plus, right? Jack carefully stroked her hair and shushed her lightly.

"Emma, listen. You can't tell anyone about this. You can't."

She looked up at him with teary eyes and nodded once, quickly. She then looked away.

"I know, Jack."

He hadn't told her about how he had murdered the woman and left the man in the cabin to suffer. He couldn't tell her that. Instead, all he told her about was the man that had bitten him, changed him, and about how his senses are enhanced. She knew about how he needed blood to survive, but when she had asked about how that was going to work, he simply told her to not worry about that.

He would handle that.

Emma shifted off of him, and wiped at her eyes and nose. She jumped off the bed and started walking out of the room. She paused to look back at him and to motion for him to follow

"Enough talking about this. I don't want to speak of it anymore. It… it scares me."

Jack flinched. He couldn't help it, but luckily, his little sister had already turned around and was no longer looking at him. She didn't see the hurt go over his face. It's not like he doesn't understand that it scares her. It scares him too. But to hear it out loud, that she's scared of him… It hurts.

Jack stood and followed her out of the room. He walked back into the main living area where his mother was finishing up the stew. His sister wasn't looking at him, and his mother didn't seem to notice anything off.

Jack coughed. "Ma, I can't say I'm all that hungry right now."

"What do you mean? You've been out for an entire day. How could you not be hungry?" She looked confused.

"I'm just… not. I will be later, so could you just save me a small bowl?"

"I guess… Jackson, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes… why?"

"You just look a little pale, is all?" She walked over to him and put her hand up to his forehead. "My goodness! You're freezing, Jackson!"

Jack withdrew away from her quickly and put his hands up in a placating manor. "I'm alright, Ma. I just need a bit of fresh air. I'll be back within an hour or two. I promise, okay?"

Jack grabbed his leather cloak that was by the front door, and swiftly fled the room before his mother could reply. Walking outside, he noticed that the air still held a crisp, cool feeling even though spring was well on its way. He stopped for a moment and really, _really_ breathed. Now that he didn't have to do it, he was able to really appreciate how good it felt to have air move your lungs and clear your mind.

The talk with his sister went better than he had expected in all honesty. He had anticipated her to hate him, to run away from him, to even physically try to hurt him but… he hadn't expected tears. He hadn't predicted a pacified uneasiness of him.

He briskly walked away from the house and away from the noise of the village as he pulled on his cloak. He had his staff in hand, and started to jog towards the woods. He just needed to walk. That was all he needed.

He needed… he needed to _think_.

Late 1712: Deep into Winter

"Jack! Jack! Come on! Let's go to the lake, please?" Emma was jumping up and down around him, and pulling at his hand. She had her skates in her other hand.

She could barely move him, as she only came up to the middle of his waist, but he started walking with her anyways.

"Alright, Alright." Jack exclaimed. She kept pulling at him and trying to drag him towards the lake. Jack laughed.

"Emma, come on. I've got to go get my skates. Let go." Emma huffed angrily, but reluctantly let go of his hand.

"Fine! Just hurry up. I wanna go now!" She plopped down into the snow. Jack only chuckled at her antics before rushing inside.

It had been a little over seven months since the day he was turned into a vampire. He had come to accept his fate, and his sister had been crucial in keeping his secret safe. She was no longer careful around him, and returned to her normal self. Both of their lives seemed to return to normal.

The only thing was the blood drinking… he never told Emma about how he got his blood.

The night after he had told Emma about his vampirism, he had gone hunting for some small game, like squirrels or birds. He had caught a few squirrels in his snares, and he even managed to snag a rabbit.

That night, in the woods, he had attempted to drink the blood from one of the squirrels. He had puked for almost thirty minutes. That was when Jack discovered he _had_ to have human blood.

He had managed to pick off people from neighboring villages. Mainly old people who were already close to death. Sometimes, he even managed to stop drinking quickly enough that the people he had drank from lived. He always drank from them from behind so that they wouldn't see his face. It was becoming easier and easier to hide what he was, and he was able to control his movements, his strengths, his appearance better every day.

He also only had to drink weekly, not daily like he thought he would have had to. If he got overly hungry or bloodthirsty, he couldn't control what he looked like. His body just… changed.

Jack grabbed his skates and rushed back outside to find Emma making a snow angel. Emma hopped up to look at it before she noticed him.

"Look! Look at what I made, Jack!" She pointed and laughed.

"That's amazing. You're a real artist, you know."

Emma jumped up and down excitedly. "Come on! Let's go. This could be your birthday present from me!"

 _Oh. Right._ It was his birthday in a few days. He would be nineteen. He had forgotten.

"Oh, okay then. Let's get to it! Come on, I'll race you." Jack started jogging, but picked up his staff as a second thought. He heard Emma laugh happily and start sprinting on her short legs to catch up. They both ran the full mile until they got to the lake's edge. Emma was doubled over in order to catch her breath.

Jack was perfectly fine. He wasn't even winded. Of course, he technically didn't even need to breathe.

Jack told Emma to sit down so he could help her with her skates. After he got them on she immediately stood up and started stepping out onto the ice. She slid to a stop in the center of the lake before turning and looking at Jack with joy in her eyes.

"Get your skates on and come have fun with me!" She yelled at him from across the ice.

"Okay, hold on." Jack bent down and took off both of his shoes in order to put his skates on, but he heard a stick snap behind him. He paused and tensed. Emma was still laughing in the distance, unaware to the threat that Jack felt behind him. Jack slowly stood straight up again, and turned his head just enough to see a figure coming up behind him.

Jack sprinted away from the man to put some distance between them. Jack turned around to look at who it was behind him. It was a man… and he looked vaguely familiar? And he was holding… what was that? It looked like a piece of wood –

A stake. A wooden stake. Jack didn't know if those parts of the stories were true or not. The parts that said that a wooden stake to the heart could kill his kind. He _did_ know, however, that vampires were not deathly allergic to garlic or anything.

The sun _was_ uncomfortable on his skin though…

The man walked towards him threateningly. He seemed to be extremely angry, pointedly, at Jack.

What the man said next chilled Jack to the bones.

"You… you murdered my wife. And now… now I'm going to murder you." The man laughed, and it sounded deranged. "But first, I'm going to let you feel the pain I felt. The pain of losing a loved one."

Jack's eyes widened as he recognized the man, and realized what he was saying.

"I'm going to kill your little sister."

Jack saw red. He could no longer hear his sister. He could no longer hear the man in front of him. All he could see was _red_ and _anger_ and _fury_ and –

Jack had the man's throat in his hands, his claws digging into the skin. Jack knew his face looked horrible. He could practically feel the veins in his face thrumming against his skin, and he could see the reflection of his bright red eyes in the man's own wide, blown pupils.

Jack heard a scream. He didn't listen. He couldn't even feel it when the man shoved the wooden stake into his chest.

All Jack did was rip the man's throat out.

Blood was everywhere, but Jack ignored it. Slowly, the red in his vision and the anger that had been singing in his veins ebbed away. Slowly, he was able to think more clearly.

He heard another scream. This time he listened.

He turned his head to see his sister on the ice, staring at him in horror. Her legs were spread wide and her arms were thrown out so she could keep her balance. She was breathing heavily.

Jack looked down at her feet and saw thick cracks appear in the ice underneath her. He could _hear_ the ice cracking. It wouldn't be able to hold her for long. Jack ran to get his staff from the ground next to his skates.

As he bent down to pick it up, he felt a sharp stab of pain shoot through his chest. Looking down, Jack saw the wooden stake in his chest. Blood didn't pour out of him, no. But this thick, black liquid did. It coated his white undershirt and made it stick to him. Jack could feel where the stake was in position to his heart, and he knew that the man had scraped it. Jack didn't know what it was doing to him right now, but he did recognize the feelings of fatigue that were creeping up on him.

"Jack?" A small, scared voice called out to him.

He turned to look at his little sister, staff in his hands. Emma was terrified. Jack could practically smell it on her. Terrified of him, the ice, or both, he didn't know. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to know.

All he did know, was that he had to save her from falling in, and that for every second that went by, he was feeling more and more exhausted.

 _I guess the stake myth isn't a myth at all._ Jack guessed that the only reason he was even still standing was because the stake hadn't pierced his heart directly, but rather scraped it.

It was slowly killing him.

"Jack… you killed that man." Emma whispered in a shaky voice. "And… and h-he said that y-you killed his wife." Emma was staring at him with wide eyes, almost as though they were begging him to say 'no, no of course it's not true.' But he couldn't say that. He couldn't lie to her.

"Yes." Was all Jack said.

Emma's eyes seemed to double in size and she looked at him in a way she had never looked at him before.

Like… like…

He was a monster.

Emma started to whimper and she shifted her foot back, but stopped when she heard the ice crack even more.

"Emma… Emma listen you can't move or the ice will break." Jack stepped one flat, bare foot onto the ice. And then another.

"No! No stay away from me! You… y-you're a monster!"

Jack stopped moving and stared at Emma in pain. He knew… he knew she completely meant what she was saying. She was afraid of him.

"Don't come near me!" She cried at him, and she moved her foot back again. There were tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't even seem to care about the ice cracking underneath her. She seemed more terrified of him than the death that awaited below her.

That hurt Jack more than anything. That she would risk her own life to get away from him.

" _MONSTER!"_ She shrieked again. This time, everything moved in slow motion.

Jack saw as she moved her foot, causing the ice below her to break. Jack barely had time to reach her, but with the staff, he was able to hook her around the waist and toss her to the edge of the lake where the ice was thick enough to hold her.

Then, Jack fell through the water, and there was nothing but the cold and darkness.


	4. Chapter 3

Late 1712: Deep into Winter

 _Pain. Pain. Pain._

Why did he hurt so much?

 _Cold. Cold. Cold. Freezing._

Why…Why was he so cold?

 _Dying. Death. Dead. Died._

Why is it so dark?

 _Dark. Dark. Dark. Nothing._

Where was he?

 _Light. Light. Light._

What…What is that?

 _Air._

And suddenly, he could breathe. His eyes, blinking rapidly at the bright light in front of him, stared up at the white sphere in the sky. It called to him. It soothed him. Him?

Yes… him. Who is him? Who… who is he?

 _Jack…_

Jack? Was that him? Who was speaking? Is it… the moon?

 _Jack Frost._

Yes. Yes. Yes. That was him. He is Jack Frost. Jack took a deep breath and felt the wind move around him as he gazed at the huge moon looming over him.

 _Host of Winter…_

Host of Winter? Is that what he was? Was the moon telling him who he is? What he is?

Jack kept gaping at the moon, waiting for it to say something else.

Nothing.

Slowly, Jack felt his feet touch the ground underneath him. He noticed how the cracked ice seemed to almost… heal when his feet touched it. He looked around at his surroundings.

He was on a frozen lake, and there were trees covered in snow all around. It was silent except for Jack's movements and the sound of wind rustling through the leaves.

Jack looked down at his feet and saw a hooked staff. He nudged it with his toes and gasped as the part he touched was covered in ice. Jack bent down and picked it up, glancing across the wood and running his fingers over it. Frost covered every inch he touched. Jack laughed in delight.

He walked slowly, and turned around in a circle, but stepped on something wooden. He looked down. It was another piece of wood, but it was blunt on one end and sharp at the other. It wasn't very long, but… it was covered in something. Something… black?

Jack reached down and picked it up, then touched the black liquid.

' _MONSTER!'_

Jack wheezed loudly and dropped the piece of wood. A stake. It was a stake.

Jack remembered… something? He remembered a small voice screaming at him, yelling the word 'monster.' He remembered that he wasn't… human? There was something different about him.

He remembered being stabbed, but not by whom. He remembered drinking… blood from humans? He remembered what he looked like… does he look like that now?

Slowly but surely, Jack recalled little bits of information about himself. He couldn't discern faces, or voices, or names… just facts.

What he looked like, how he was stronger than others, faster than others. He could heal quickly. He had to drink blood… human blood. His senses were enhanced…

But what did the _make_ him? What was the word that would describe what he is? Jack stood on the ice, staff in hand, and just thought. He needed to know what he was.

Jack looked up at the moon again. "What am I? Am I a… monster?"

Silence. The moon didn't respond. Jack huffed in frustration. He stalked around the stake in a circle, before nudging it with his foot.

He glared at the offensive piece of wood. He was sure that it had to do with what he was.

Slowly, the word ' _vampire'_ crawled into his mind. A vampire… yes, that sounded correct.

Jack couldn't remember anything except that he was a vampire, and now, he supposed, the Host of Winter. He wasn't quite sure what the last thing meant, exactly.

Who was that voice, then? The one that called him a monster? He must have been one… a monster that is. He had to drink _blood to survive._ That wasn't something that normal humans did. Was it? No…

He had to hunt humans, and drink what kept them alive. Jack had probably killed someone once… He just couldn't remember.

Jack walks with his staff towards the tree line and slowly touches the tip of his staff to a tree's trunk. He watched in joy as beautifully intricate frost designs spread across the bark. All thoughts of his being a vampire escaped his thoughts, and instead his mind was filled with happiness at what he could create.

Jack started running across the ice, slipping and sliding every few steps. He tapped each tree that he passed and observed in glee as the frost spread across each tree. He then slid away from the trees across the lake, and started dragging his staff across the ice's surface. Frost followed him wherever he touched.

Jack was spinning in circles, laughing at how much fun he was having.

He was doing this! These beautiful designs! He was making something amazing! _He_ was!

These thoughts filled him with such pleasing feelings that he was sure that his heart would burst. Then suddenly, he was lifted hundreds of feet into the air by a gust of wind, and he could see _everything._ He saw trees and mountains in the distance. He saw fields and ice and snow and the stars and –

There were lights? They were orange and Jack could vaguely hear laughter and music. Jack wanted to go there. He was going to go to that place and talk to people and see if they knew anything about him and his situation. Maybe they could help him?

Jack's smile was close to breaking his face, but it quickly turned into an open mouth scream as he fell from the sky. The wind was no longer holding him up and the tops of the trees were coming at him faster than anything.

On his way down he hit limbs before finally catching himself on a branch sturdier than the rest. His laughter returned as he scrambled on top of the protruding wood. That had been so much _fun_! He had been _flying_! He laughed so loudly that he caused a few birds nearby to launch into flight.

Managing to crouch on the tree, he looked in the distance where he could still make out the yellow-orange glow of distant fires, and the sounds of merriment.

How had he flown? Jack sighed and thought about it. The wind had lifted him up.

He shifted on the tree and whispered, "The wind…" and almost immediately he felt his cloak shifting against his back, and the tree under him groaned in protest at being pushed around.

Jack waited until the air flow had stopped and the tree was still once again. He thought for a moment before saying, loudly and more clearly this time, "Wind."

A gust of frigid air carried him up like before and he focused on it. He managed to stay upright, and slowly, _very_ slowly, Jack commanded the wind to carry him in the direction he wanted.

Jack was smiling gleefully as he got more comfortable being up in the air, and even did a few flips and twirls. It wasn't long before he was right above the village, and he tried to land gently, but once he landed his cloak flipped over his head, causing him to fall over.

Jumping up with an embarrassed laugh, he looked around at the people walking around the village. He walked past people, still smiling, and repeated "hello's" and "hi's." In his joy at finding other people, he didn't realize that no one was looking at him.

He turned towards the sound of a child's laughter. Jack grinned at the little boy as he was running towards him.

"Hello! Hi! Do you know where –?"

Gasping, Jack almost fell backwards. The child had just ran _through_ him. Jack clutched at his chest. It was burning where the boy had 'touched' him, and gradually, the sensation went away. Jack looked around once more before discovering that no one was even looking his way, and that no one can hear or see him. Jack's chest was tight with fear and anger.

Fear at not being able to talk to anyone, and for potentially being alone for the rest of his existence. Anger, at how the only things he knew was his name, and what he was. He didn't know if he had any family, or lovers, or friends, or enemies. Jack didn't know anything.

Still clutching his chest, Jack wandered out of the village and back into the woods.

* * *

Jack had gone from settlement to settlement for the past week. He had discovered that he was in what folks called "the new world." These people had come from across the ocean, and had taken the land from the natives that had been here from the beginning.

Jack had found a "native's" camp not too long ago, and he vaguely decided that he would return to it. He liked hearing the stories that the older humans told the children.

He called on the wind to carry him to the village, and in only a few minutes, he was lounged out on a tree limb, listening to a story about a hare and a turtle. Jack was only half paying attention.

Jack eyes widened and his head whipped around in the direction of a sound that had come from only a few feet below him. Jack saw, to his amazement, a person who had the legs of a goat.

What was he? Could he… could he see him?

Jack in his hesitant excitement, jumped down from the tree right in front of the creature.

"Hello!"

The creature jumped back and shrieked before running away from him. Jack frowned at how it had run away, but his frown quickly turned into a smile as he realized that he had _seen_ him.

Jack wouldn't let him get away. He had to talk to him.

Jack chased after the creature. "Wait! I want to talk to you!"

"No!" It yelled. "Leave me be!"

"Please, I really need to talk to you. No one other than you has been able to see me!"

Jack was still chasing the man-goat, and saw him turn his head to look back at Jack. Doing so caused the being to lose his footing, and he tripped on to the ground. Jack stopped his chase abruptly as the smell of the creature's blood found its way to his nose.

The man on the ground turned onto his and looked up at Jack with a horrified expression. The smell of his blood was tantalizing to Jack, but he pushed his sudden and extreme hunger away and knelt down.

"Are you okay? This doesn't hurt too badly does it?"

The goat-man gaped at Jack, his mouth forming an unbelieving "o" shape. Slowly, he shook his head.

"No… I-It doesn't h-hurt that badly. I... y-you aren't going to k-kill me?" The goat-man's voice was shaky and high pitched. He was still scared.

"No? Why would I?"

"Oh I don't know? Maybe it's because you're a vampire!" The creature whisper-yelled at him.

Jack only grinned sheepishly. "Yeah? I know that. That doesn't mean I wanna kill you." Jack paused, the grin sliding off of his face. "Do vampires just go around and kill people?"

"Well, usually." That was all the creature said.

Jack stood up and extended a hand to the man. He took it and gave Jack a look that he couldn't distinguish. "What's your name?" The goat-man asked.

"Uh… Jack. It's Jack Frost."

"Well, Jack Frost, my name is Moki." The man stood up on his (goat?) legs and brushed off some twigs and dirt that was clinging to his fur. "Did I hear you correctly when you said that I was the only thing to be able to see you?"

Jack nodded.

"Well," Moki sighed, "I thought you didn't seem completely normal."

"What?" Jack asked, slightly offended.

"Even for a vampire." Moki added.

Jack scoffed. "Well what are _you_ then? A half-goat or something?"

Moki looked up at him with indignation clearly displayed on his face. "A goat? Seriously? Obviously I'm part deer." As if to prove his point, he stuck a leg out for Jack to look at. There were little white dots scattered across Moki's upper thighs, and the fur was thin and sleek, if a bit scruffy at the bottom by his small and delicate hooves.

"…Okay. A deer then. Because that's so much more normal." Jack said.

"Ha! It's more normal than a vampire spirit."

 _A spirit?_

"What do you mean spirit?" Jack asked.

"Well that's what you are, right?" Moki stated. When Jack gave him nothing but a blank stare, he added, "You are a spirit. People can't see you because you no longer exist in the mortal realm." Moki paused and added under his breath, "Unless you have believers, that is…"

"What? What do you mean believers?" Jack was getting nervous.

"Oh, ya know. People have to believe that you even exist for them to see, hear, or touch you." Moki laughed, "My kind haven't had believers in _centuries_." Jack was openly staring at Moki in worry and disbelief.

"Hey, Jack, listen. You seem… nice? Not like the typical murderous vampires that only live to drink blood and murder people." Moki shrugged. "If you want, I can help explain this spirit world stuff to you? But if I'm going to do this, I don't wanna stay out in the cold, yeah? Let me show you to my home."

Jack only nodded.

* * *

Moki's house wasn't exactly… a house? It was basically just this one, huge space underneath a hill that had room dividers separating the living areas. It was cozy. Jack liked it.

"Well, this is my home." Moki said while shuffling around and putting stuff up onto shelves and clearing a walk way. "My mater and pater used to live here."

"Mater and pater?"

"My parents."

"Oh."

 _Do I have… parents?_ Jack thought for a second and then shook his head. He didn't want to think about that now.

Jack lifted into the air and looked around, so that he could just fly around the space rather than walk. He looked at everything he could. There were books everywhere, and in almost every corner there were scrolls, ink, and quills. There were also cabinets that housed what looked to be a huge assortment of herbs and other vegetation.

There was a fire in the central area of the space, and the heat traveled through the rest of the home. The heat wasn't making Jack uncomfortable, thankfully, and in all honesty, the warmth was making him feel safe.

"Over here, Jack."

Jack turned to where he heard Moki, and slowly flew across the room towards him. He was careful to not knock anything over with his staff. Jack lowered himself into a chair that was located directly across from Moki.

Moki had set out two cups. Both ceramic.

"Um… I'm sorry but I can't drink or eat anything other than blood." Jack spoke softly, as if embarrassed by this fact.

Moki chuckled. "Yes, yes. I'm aware." He then produced two bottles. One was brown, and the other was black. He poured a strange liquid into his own cup that smelled strongly of something alcoholic. The Moki took the black bottle and poured the liquid inside into Jack's own cup. Blood poured out.

Jack looked up at Moki's face sharply. "Where did you get this blood?"

"I have a friend of mine who is able to obtain large quantities of human blood so that I can write letters to my family. I use it as ink. It allows me to instantly send the messages to them. I also use it to preform spells. Or, as the humans call it, witchcraft." Moki rolled his eyes at that.

"Did someone have to die to get this?"

"No. My friend knows how to get it without arousing suspicion, and it doesn't hurt the person he is getting it from. And honestly, that's all I know about it." Moki took a sip of his drink. "I don't really _want_ to know how he does it."

Jack stared as Moki took another sip of his drink, before he wrapped his finger around his own a delicately took a sniff of the substance inside it.

"You need to drink that, you know. The only reason I even knew you were a vampire is because of your appearance." Moki shrugged. "You look extremely frightening right now."

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You've got the whole red-eyed, black vein look going on right now. Most likely because you're hungry and didn't even realize it." Moki took another sip before gesturing towards Jack's cup. "Drink."

Jack glanced back down to his cup before taking a tentative mouthful. The red liquid coated his tongue like the most delicious drink that he'd ever had. It was sweet and warm. It wasn't thick like it had been sitting out for a while, and it flowed down his throat smoothly. An ache in his throat and chest immediately softened. He drank more, and refilled his cup before the ache was completely gone.

Moki was watching him in amazement, and Jack could feel his face shifting in appearance with every mouthful of blood he swallowed.

"Wow. You look a lot better like this."

Jack felt his face was heat up. Moki smirked.

"What…" Jack coughed. "What do I look like?"

"Well you don't look like you're going to murder anyone and anything that you see."

Jack glared at the deer-man.

"Okay, okay. Just give me a moment." Moki got up after chugging the last of his alcoholic beverage, and then walked behind one of the room dividers. Jack could hear him mumbling and tossing stuff around.

Jack managed to drink another cup of blood before Moki came back and sat down. He was holding a small mirror.

"Here. Why don't you look?"

Moki handed the mirror to Jack, and Jack tilted it so that he could see his reflection.

His hair was _white._ And his eyes were _blue_. He had the body of a human, but no human he had seen had hair as white as his, nor eyes quite as blue.

His skin was pale. Really, really pale. He was almost the color of snow. His nose and lips looked the normal. Slowly, Jack used his fingers to show his ears. They were pointed at the tip, very pointed.

Jack bared his teeth in his reflection and saw that his teeth were still sharper than a normal humans, but at least his fangs weren't cutting into his lips.

Jack decided to test and make sure that he could still alter his appearance whenever he wanted. So slowly, he focused on his eyes. Sure enough, they changed to red and veins pushed against his skin. He bared his teeth again and saw as his four fangs slowly grew in length and pushed against his bottom lip. He let his appearance go back to normal and sat the mirror down on the table in front of him.

Moki was eyeing him. "Well?"

"I feel like… I didn't use to look like this."

"What do you mean?"

"I…" Jack paused. "I don't remember anything past a week ago."

Jack stood up and started pacing. "The first thing I remember was staring at the moon. It was dark, and it was the only light I could see beneath the ice."

Jack's pacing sped up and Moki was watching him wearily. "The only thing that spoke to me for my first week was the moon. It said my name was Jack Frost, and that I'm…."

Moki leaned forward at Jack's hesitation. "What Jack? You're what?"

"The Host of Winter."

Moki's eyes widened, and he leaned back in his chair, surprised.

"So you know what that means?" Moki looked down at Jack's words. "Moki?"

"Yes I know what it means." Moki stood up and walked over to Jack before looking up at him with something close to awe in his eyes.

"Jack… you're like… a _king_."

Jack looked dazed.

"Well," Moki huffed, "as close as anyone can get to being royalty in the spirit world."

Moki looked excited. "You are, essentially, winter and everything that it is."

Jack blinked at him. "What _is_ winter, then?" Jack paused and then added, "And if I'm winter, who are the other Hosts?"

Moki grunted and stroked his chin in thought. "Well…" Moki started, "overall, the seasons all symbolize a part of the life cycle. It all starts with spring."

Jack nodded, and Moki continued. "Spring is about birth. Youth and new beginnings. It's about people having hope. Summer is when life is in full swing. Summer is a time full of energy and emotion."

Moki laughed deeply. "A lot of the summer spirits are rather… feisty." Moki winked at Jack's lavender blush.

"Autumn is about gratitude and harvest. It's about the calm and the serene. But autumn is also a time of age, and growing old. That leads to winter." Moki glances at Jack before continuing.

"Winter is about death. It's when life goes dormant. Winter is old. It's… dangerous."

Jack looked down at his hands. "So… I'm what? The king of death?"

Moki sighed exasperatedly. "No, that's Thanatos. You know… that one Greek god?"

Jack gave Moki an unamused glare.

"Jack… you and your abilities stem from the seasons. You are one of the four powerhouses in both the spirit world and the human world. Without you and the other three Hosts, this world would be barren and desolate. You're important. Very important." Moki patted Jack on the shoulder before turning to refill his cup with alcohol.

"So what about the other Hosts?" Jack questioned.

"Well obviously, you're the Host of Winter. Summer is a bit strange…" Moki drank from his cup and shook his head. "There's three? Sort of? They are essentially the same person, but all three preside over the summer season. Their names are… oh Gods what are their names?"

"I don't know. You tell me." Jack stated with a deadpan expression.

"Oh, ha. Funny." Moki's face told Jack that he most certainly did not find it funny.

"Anyways, I do believe their names are Eunomia, Dike, and Eirene. They're sisters but, like I said, they're pretty much the same person."

"Okay. So fall and spring?"

"Ah, yes. Fall. She's a very beautiful one." Moki sighed wistfully. "Her name's Demeter. She's a Greek goddess. Now… the summer and fall Hosts haven't had believers in a very, very long time. And I guess that, now, the Host of Spring doesn't either."

Moki stood up and stretched out his back. Jack could hear every time his spine cracked and popped.

"The Host of Spring… her name is Persephone. She was given the mantle of Host from the Easter Bunny. He was made a guardian and didn't want the responsibility of having both titles. He's a part of what we lesser spirits call 'The Big Four.'" Moki gathered the empty cups and moved behind another room divider. Jack could hear him dumping the cups somewhere. Moki was shuffling around in the other area but continued to talk.

"The Big Four are guardians. They protect the children of the world. There was some big war or something a couple of centuries back between them and another big spirit. Don't really know much about it…"

Moki came back from around the divider and motioned for Jack to follow him. He led him to a palette made out of an assortment of furs and pillows.

"You can sleep here for the night."

"I don't need to sleep."

"Yeah. You do. You don't _have_ to but you _need_ to. At least every once in a while."

Jack sighed and nodded. "Alright. Will you tell me more tomorrow? Especially about the Guardians?"

Moki nodded and smiled at Jack. "Of course." Moki made to move away from Jack, but before he could respond, Moki's hand was on his shoulder.

"Listen," Moki hesitated, "You might be a vampire, but you are a Host. You were chosen for a reason. And so far, you've shown amazing restraint with your bloodlust. So, I trust you."

Moki pulled his hand off of Jack.

"I think we can be friends, Jack." Moki smiled and started walking away from Jack. "Sleep well, yeah?"

Moki's words made a warmth pool in Jack's chest. Jack breathed deeply in happiness. He had a friend. He _wouldn't_ be alone for the rest of his existence.

"Yeah. Goodnight, Moki."

Jack turned to the palette and studied it. It looked warm and extremely comfortable. Jack _did_ feel exhausted. Maybe not physically, but mentally, he needed a break.

Jack untied his cloak and folded it before laying it to the side. He left his undershirt and pants on. He set his staff up against the wall.

Leisurely, Jack shifted his weight until he was relaxing against the pelts. They were soft against his skin, and almost instantly his eyes shut and he feel asleep.


	5. Chapter 4

1812: 100 years later

"Alright! Yes! That looks amazing, Keriah!"

"Wait! No, no, no! Not like that, Lester, like this."

"Be careful Arleta! We don't want an accident like last time, yeah?"

Jack listened to Moki as he ordered around some of the lesser ice spirits. Jack was floating a little ways away from the construction of his fortress. Moki had insisted that he have one built by Jack's 'followers.' Apparently, he had an entire Winter Court.

The building was almost done, and had been in construction for only a few days. It didn't take long considering the building was almost completely made out of ice.

The icelings were efficient in listening to orders and following instructions, though they weren't that… intelligent. The Ice Wraiths helped keep them in line, and so did Moki. Whenever Jack had to go and bring winter to the world, Moki would help look after Jack's 'subjects.'

Jack didn't really like to think of himself as the ruler of winter, but he had to admit, it came with perks. Jack had been keeping a relatively low profile for the past hundred years. He didn't want any huge spirits to know that he, Jack Frost, was the new Host of Winter. He wanted to fully master his domain and his powers first.

Moki had explained to him that there had been three Hosts before him. The very first (no one could remember his name) was the only caring Winter to have been chosen. The last two, the Snow Queen and General Winter, had been cruel and unforgiving. They had treated the winter spirits horribly, and often they would have hunted some down and killed them just for the fun of it.

No one knows what happened to the Snow Queen. She had just disappeared one day, but General Winter faded due to a broken heart.

Jack was told that the General had fallen in love with a summer spirit, but the spirit had said she would never be with him due to his cruelty. Eventually, after a century of pain of his being alone, he faded. Moki said that occurred over a hundred years before Jack's rebirth as the Host, and that winter had been in a sort of disarray ever since. But now that Jack is here, he can bring order to his season.

Jack wasn't planning on being a cruel Winter, but he refused to be walked over by the larger spirits, and, he decided, that when the time came to openly be the Host of Winter, that he would put the larger and more sentient beings in their places.

Jack looked back to the construction and saw that his friend was speaking to a sprite. They were, luckily, more intelligent than the icelings.

The sprite shook its head before fluttering its wings to go inside the fortress. Jack had a small group of icelings, ice wraiths, and sprites living and guarding his fortress when he wasn't there. Moki had turned into a steward of sorts. He helped Jack with the political bits of running a season.

Moki and Jack had decided to build a fortress on the top of a mountain. Jack believed the humans called it Mount Everest? He wasn't really sure. He just picked it because it was the tallest and the most imposing mountain he could find.

He and the satyr had remained close over the last hundred years, and formed a tight friendship. Jack had helped Moki many times, and Moki had helped Jack. The deer-man was the only being that he truly trusted.

Jack sighed and flew towards the fortress. He had to whisper some words from some old, long-forgotten language that opened up a hole in the barrier that surrounded his stronghold. It was a shield of some sort. It had magic interwoven throughout, and it made his castle completely invisible to the humans. There weren't many humans travelling in this part of the world though.

Jack smiles a little as he sees Moki wave him over. Once Jack reaches him, they walk inside to look over their new home. He listened to the satyr spout of a bunch of information regarding what is where, and when he has to go do his duties, and what spirits had what complaints.

Honestly, being a Host is tiring.

Jack followed Moki around and sighed. At least he had a friend to help out with all of the politicking.

1818: 6 years later

The small fire in Jack's lounge room kept it a comfortable temperature as he and Moki played some sort of card game. Jack and the satyr passed cards back in forth as they played. There was a tense silence between them.

"Jack."

Jack paused before he gave Moki another card. "What?"

"Do you want to, maybe, explain why you've been leaving and coming back injured lately?"

Jack was silent. Moki sighed and threw his cards down. "Jack! Honestly, we're _friends_. You should be able to tell me what's going on with you."

Tentatively, Jack lowered his cards to the table. He picked up a small metal cup and took a sip of the warm blood that was within, and gently swirled it as he thought of a reply.

"I know." Jack exhaled noisily. "I just… I think it's better if you don't know."

"Bullshit." Moki stood up and pointed a finger in Jack's direction. "I need to know why you're going out and getting hurt, and _who,_ exactly, is doing the hurting!"

Jack scowled at the finger Moki was pointing at him. Jack whacked it away in annoyance before he stood with a huff.

"What have you been getting yourself in to?" Moki looked frustrated and worried.

This wasn't the first time this conversation has come up. Jack was getting tired of talking about it when, honestly, he just didn't want Moki to know what was going on.

Jack wasn't in the mood to be judged for his actions.

"Jack I need to know."

"Jack! Jack, _please_. Talk to me."

"We are friends, right? We've known each other for so long, come on."

"Jack!"

Jack listened to Moki prodding, and felt his anger growing with every word. He didn't want to tell him. Why wasn't that reason enough?

"Jack, you've _got_ to tell me -"

" _FINE!_ You want to know what I've been doing?" Jack was yelling, and he could feel his appearance changing. He knew he looked frightening with his blood red eyes and his inky veins.

"I've been hunting! I've been killing!" Jack was glaring at Moki, but the satyr only stared back with wide, confused eyes.

"I-I don't understand? W-Why have you been -" Moki was shaking his head.

"I've been stalking my own kind. We're dangerous! We murder and kill innocents. Vampires can't be allowed to roam around unattended, and there aren't enough spirits in the world who are strong enough to look after so many. The only option is to kill them."

Moki looked worried. "Jack… but you aren't like that. You aren't a murderer."

"Are you sure of that?" Jack snorted. "You know that I don't know anything about my past… but have I told you about the _one_ memory I _do_ have?"

"No… I don't think so." Moki sat back down in his chair and watched Jack wearily.

"A little girl's voice. She is saying one word, and one word only." Jack pauses. "She is screaming the word 'monster!' and I know, I _know_ , she's screaming it at me."

"No. No you can't be _sure_ of that -"

"What is there to be sure of, Moki?" Jack shook his head. "I can't remember anything other than that. My memory starts when I woke up on the lake! The Moon has to be telling me something if the only thing I can remember of my life before is a _child calling me a monster._ "

"Jack, _no_. You are _not_ a monster."

Jack scowled. "Save it. I know what I am."

1838: 20 years later

The wind was calm today. There were only a few snowflakes dropping down onto Jack's home. The never-melting ice that the fortress was built out of gleamed and reflected sunlight like a kaleidoscope. The ice was constantly being kept cold by the other ice spirits. It was helpful having them around.

Jack slowly lifted from his perch on top of his staff to fly around the mountain. Jack could see the way horizon curved and matched the Earth's surface. It was beautiful.

Jack would often fly over the mountains and follow some of the indigenous people who had to travel over them. They would sometimes get close enough to his mountain, that Jack was glad he had a shield put up.

Jack made his rounds around the mountain, and gradually soared back to his stronghold. He landed on the stairs the connected into the side of the mountain, and followed them up to his front entrance. He walked through a hall or two until he came across a room that had been dedicated to Moki and his magic and alchemy.

Jack leaned against the threshold as he watched his friend work on a potion of some sort. He crushed some herbs in his hand and then sprinkled some pink dust into a bowl, which he then ground together in a bowl made of some weird, black mineral.

Jack crinkled his nose at the smell that started floating through the air.

"What are you making?"

Moki glanced at him from the corner of his eye before continuing with his work. "Another satyr from somewhere in North America sent me a letter. There is an illness that is floating around in her area, and she asked me to help."

Moki lifted the bowl to his nose and sniffed. His eyebrows lifted. "Huh. I remember this stuff smelling worse."

"Worse? It smells bad _now_."

"Yeah, well I suppose I'm just getting used to bad smells." Moki laughed.

"Hey, we agreed not to talk about that." Jack glared at him, but it lacked any malice.

Jack had been travelling throughout Russia when he came across a man shivering naked out in the snow. Jack couldn't help him much, except to lessen the snowfall. Jack had decided to follow the man's tracks to see where he had come from, and Jack discovered a cave hidden into the ground.

Jack wanted to go inside and explore, and so he did. There were flower decorations hanging from the cavern's ceiling, and the stalagmites and stalactites had a variety of colors painted on these swirly designs. Jack had been so enraptured that he hadn't noticed when he had walked in on a group of succubi who were all in various states of undress. There were human men and women in similar states all throughout the cavern.

Jack had admitted to Moki that he had, indeed, screamed. The succubi saw him almost immediately, but the humans didn't. A lot of them had looked around in confusion, as if they had been in a daze. Jack decided he couldn't just leave the humans there to… whatever fate that awaited them.

So, Jack had taken his staff and started to defend himself against the creatures. They were utterly bloodthirsty, and they never held back on any of their attacks. Jack had managed to kill off half a dozen succubi, and managed to release the humans from their hazy minds and 'push' them out of the cavern with his winds.

Unfortunately, succubi, when killed (and much to Jack's shock) release a noxious odor that would likely knock anyone out. Jack really regretted having such a good sense of smell at that moment.

Jack stopped breathing and ran through the caverns to get to open air, but the smell had been too much for him, and so, he fell onto the cave's entrance floor unconscious. He hadn't woken up until hours later, groggy and smelling horrible. He'd returned to his fortress, and Moki had simply told him to leave and not come back until the smell wasn't as strong.

Jack had come back two days later. It was still there but not as pungent. The smell had stayed on his body for almost a week. Moki still laughed every time Jack told that story.

Jack laughed to himself as he thought about what had happened, but then turned back to watching Moki as he made his potion. Jack didn't say anything for the next little while, content to just watch Moki move around the room and throw ingredients together.

Jack had zoned out for only a second before a puff of violet smoke spewed itself into Moki's face. Jack giggled with the funny scene playing out in front of him. Moki couldn't stop coughing, and his face was a dark purple.

"Shut up Jack. This isn't funny." Moki grabbed a rag and wiped at his face, smearing the purple everywhere.

"It is funny though." Jack snorted then shuffled towards Moki a little. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah? What?"

"You once told me that there were some winter spirits that had been 'corrupted'? I wanted to know what they were."

Moki breathed out heavily while pouring the purple potion into a glass vial. "Well first off, they weren't corrupted. They had been abused by the two previous Hosts of Winter that they'd declared themselves no longer part of the winter court."

Moki started cleaning all of his tools that he had dirtied. "Well you've got the Boreas, the Yuki-onna, the Banshees, and the Amaroks. Those are the major spirits of winter."

Moki paused in his motions. "Jack, why do you want to know?"

"I'm going to build my kingdom."

1868: 30 years later

"Remind me. Why did I have to come with you for this?" Jack walked on the top of the snow, not even leaving footprints. Moki, on the other hand, was up to his knobby little deer knees in the fluffy white stuff.

"Because," Moki huffed, "You're sense of smell is stronger. You can pick up the scent of what I need easier."

"Fine, fine. At least describe what the smell should be like?"

"It should smell like mint mixed with freshly oiled leather."

"That's a strange combination."

"Tell me about it."

The duo continued walk around the woods. They were in Russia somewhere, and apparently it was the only place to find a certain plant that the satyr needed. Jack was sniffing the air, and Moki was looking around through the snow.

Jack vaguely smelled what he was looking for after an hour of searching.

"Hey, I think some might be over -" Jack didn't get to finish as he felt claws scratch into the back of his skull. He vaguely thought he felt liquid pouring down his neck.

Jack had fallen to the ground, but almost instantly he struggled to stand back up. Jack looked up just in time to see a wendigo tear its claws across Moki's chest. A strangled and wet scream made its way to Jack's ears.

Jack picked up his staff from the snow, and started to drive the monster away from his friend. "Hold on, Moki!"

Jack flew quickly at the wendigo, and forced the tip of his staff into the creature's eye socket, causing a gush of its' foul blood to hit Jack in the face. Jack kept forcing his staff into the wendigo's eye until he knocked it to the ground. Jack felt its skull crushing beneath his staff. He wrenched the staff free with a 'squelch.' Jack turned to look at Moki and saw another two wendigos _eating him_.

Jack saw red. Veins started pushing against his skin, and he felt his eyesight zero in on the two beasts. Jack let out a war cry and slashed at both wendigos at once. One let go of a roar that shook Jack to his bones.

Jack jumped back as one stretched out its claws to slash at Jack's neck. Launching himself into the air, Jack fell back to the ground and landed on a wendigo's head. He hooked its head with his staff's hook and twisted until he felt its neck snap.

Jack couldn't get his staff unhooked in time before the last wendigo was running at him. Its long and decaying arms looked ready to rip him apart. Jack launched himself away from it before dodging swing after swing of the monster's claws.

The beast growled as it swung its hand at Jack again, but Jack was too quick for it. Jack jumped away from it again, and launched an ice shard into its chest. It roared in pain as Jack leapt onto a tree limb out of its reach and manipulated the shard embedded in its torso. Jack made the ice shard splinter, further piercing the wendigo's body. Jack kept manipulating the ice with hand movements to move it throughout its frame. Eventually, the beast was no longer roaring, and Jack could no longer detect a heartbeat.

Once Jack was sure that all three wendigos were dead, and there was nothing else hanging about waiting to attack him, Jack walked over to Moki's body.

Jack knelt down next to him and listened carefully.

Nothing. There was no heartbeat, no breathing. Nothing.

Jack felt nothing.

Jack took the body and laid it next to a large tree. Jack cleared away the snow in the area, and started digging a hole in the ground with his bare hands. Once the hole was a few feet deep and wide, Jack gently laid Moki's body down into it. He then started pushing the dirt back over the body.

After Moki had been buried, Jack extended his nails and wrote in the tree trunk next to his grave, 'Moki. A Dear Friend.' Then he sat down in the damp, dark soil.

Jack felt himself cry for the first time since he had awoken on the lake.

1968: 100 years later

Jack was standing next to his friend's grave. His only friend.

Who's dead.

It's been so long since it happened, but it still hurt like it happened only a moment ago. Jack didn't cry. He hadn't cried since when Moki had first been murdered.

Murdered. Killed. Slaughtered. Executed.

He… he had been _eaten_. Those disgusting wendigos had eaten pieces of his friend, and that thought alone made him furious.

Ever since Moki died, Jack had been completely alone. The sprites, wraiths, yuki-onna, boreas… none of them could provide a friendship. They only wanted someone to help tame winter again so that it didn't get completely out of control. They were nothing but his followers. His subjects.

Jack commanded them, ruled over them… but he found he didn't want to actually to be friends with any of them.

Jack slowly shook his head in anger. The one person… the _one_ person on this planet that had actually been nice to Jack, and he was _taken_ from him.

Jack thought that his death was his own fault. He was a vampire. He should have smelled the wendigos. They don't exactly smell very good.

If he had just… just payed attention to what was going on around them… He shouldn't have been so carefree. Moki's death was his fault because Jack was too lenient. He wasn't cautious, watchful, or vigilant.

He wasn't strong. He wasn't strong enough to save Moki.

That thought… the thought that it was his own weakness that had gotten his _only friend_ murdered made Jack uncontrollably vicious.

Jack barely noticed as the wind picked up in response to his emotions. Snow fell harder and harder until he couldn't see in front of him. Jack could hear trees being unrooted. The wind was so _fierce_ in his ears and against his skin.

Tree's rattled, snow flew sideways, the wind screamed, and the sky which was once blue and bright was now grey and dark.

Jack was so angry. So angry and furious and livid and filled with a white-hot rage. But guilt lingered in every corner of his mind.

Jack felt his skin flexing over black veins and his nails grew until they were digging into his thighs. Jack ignored how his black blood dripped out from the wounds in his legs and down into the snow. Jack removed his nails from his thighs one by one and then squeezed his fists until his nails went all the way through his hands.

Jack used his nails to scratch himself all over. He would heal. He always healed. Jack always healed, but Moki never would.

Jack didn't hold back anymore.

He screamed, and screamed, and screamed.

He screamed until he couldn't scream anymore. Jack sat in the snow that had almost buried him and, slowly, stood up and looked at the tree that he had marked all those years ago. The writing was almost twenty feet up the trunk by now. It was hard to see.

Glancing down at himself, he saw that his clothes had been shredded by his nails, and there was black blood dripping down his legs and arms. The snow had stopped falling, and the wind was completely silent.

Jack bent down and dug through some of the snow to find his staff hidden underneath. Jack forced himself to breathe to get rid of the burning sensation in his chest. As he did, he slowly felt his form change back to normal. He no longer looked like a monster.

Jack started to shift away from the grave. He had been walking for about ten minutes through the woods when he heard someone.

"When I find the bloody sprite that did this, I'm gonna tear its head off its shoulders…"

 _Australian accent?_ It's a little strange to hear that lilt in someone's voice while in Russia.

"YOU!"

Jack jumped in surprise. When had they gotten behind him? Jack turned slowly and looked up to see a huge… rabbit? Jack could only recall being told about _one_ giant, bipedal rabbit.

Was this the Easter Bunny?

Jack stared at the creature up and down, analyzing if he was a threat or not. The bunny didn't seem to know who he was, and he was glaring at him quite angrily-

"What the bloody hell is wrong with ya? Why would you decided to start up a bloody blizzard on Easter!" The bunny was poking at Jack's chest. He didn't seem to notice that Jack had his blood all over him and that his clothes were torn.

"My holiday is absolutely rooted! Because uh you!" The Easter Bunny seemed to pause at that. "Who even _are_ ya?"

Jack had stopped breathing. The Easter Bunny had _really green eyes._

Jack ran a shaky hand through his hair, uncovering his pointed ears. Jack didn't notice how the rabbit stared at them.

"Jack Frost."

"Well then, _Jack Frost._ If I find one more injured child, I'm gonna make sure that you nevah cause another blizzard."

Jack froze. "I-I hurt people?"

The distress is Jack's voice made Bunny pause and really look at Jack. Jack looked like he was experiencing a storm of emotions in his mind, and Bunny saw how tightly the boy was gripping his staff. His clothes were ripped all over, and there was this black liquid oozing from a few scratches on the boy's arms.

 _What caused those? Who hurt this little sprite?_

Jack ignored the Rabbit for a moment as he gathered himself. He had hurt people. Innocent people… he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't be the one to do that.

Jack promised himself that he wouldn't let his emotions run free anymore. He would become stronger, both emotionally and physically.

 _Starting now._

"Forgive me, Easter Bunny. I wasn't aware that today was your holiday." Jack paused. "I apologize for the pain that I've caused you and others. It won't happen again."

Jack gave a small nod towards the rabbit, and kept his face devoid of any emotion. He gripped his staff tightly and lifted into the air, traveling faster than the speed of sound to return home.

Bunny looked at the boy as he dashed away. Those eyes looked so… old. And tired. Aster had trouble staring at them. The looked so lonely.

 _They were such a gorgeous shade of blue, yah? And those ears… they were rightly adorable._

Aster shook his head from that train of thought. He didn't want to think on his immediate attraction to the boy the second he'd seen him.

 _It's just because the larrikin was spiffy looking. And that I haven't been with anyone in centuries…_

Aster thought back to what he had seen on the winter spirits body. The sprite had been covered in… his blood? Why was his blood black? And what caused all those wounds on the boy's body?

And why had he gone from emotional to locked up tighter than a clam in just a few seconds?

Aster shook his head and went to look for anymore missing children. He didn't have time to think about this now.

* * *

Thanks for reading, and I hope you've been enjoying the story so far.

Thanks for all of that wonderful feedback. I couldn't appreciate it more!

Next chapter coming soon.


	6. Chapter 5

2012: 44 years later

Jack sighed. "What now, Nelka?"

"There has been an increase in human activity outside of our fortress. Our shields remain strong despite the satyr's absence. However, the boreas claim that they can feel the power slipping."

"And?" The small ice lady was shivering. Of course, the ice women always shivered.

"They say that they can keep it strong, but they need something in return."

Jack scowled. "What do they want, exactly?"

"They want access to the uninhabitable parts of Russia. They've already agreed to stay away from the human settlements… they claim they simply want a larger portion of land to use their powers and spread their winds and snow."

Jack grimaced. _Russia._

He had kept a lot of spirits away from there ever since 1968. He had been trying to make it up to the people of that country. He had injured some of its citizens, and thus, the least he could do was make some of the winters calmer than in the past. With the Boreas wanting permission to practice their powers there, it would, regardless of their promises, effect the human settlements.

Jack thought for only a moment longer. "Tell them I agree. So long as they do not affect _my_ weather patterns there." Jack figured the humans would be okay with a few worse winters. Besides, he had to keep his shields up one way or the other.

The humans seemed to find joy in killing themselves in climbing his mountain. It had become a goal of some sort, simply because it was the tallest mountain in the world. Jack thought it was idiotic.

Jack dismissed the lesser ice lady. The ice women were all so short…

Grabbing his staff, he stood from his throne. It was made of different colored ice. It held different shades of blues and purples and a few shards of black. It was wide and allowed him a lot room to stretch out. The backrest had spikes of ice jutting out in every which direction. It looked very intimidating. Jack liked it.

Jack thought back to the Easter of 1968. That had been a sort of… year of awakening for him. He had realized that he was weak. He hadn't even been able to keep his friend alive.

And so, Jack had changed himself. Both inside and out.

Jack's clothes had been ruined after that day, and had decided it would be easier on him if he could hide his face. He looked down at himself as he walked through his corridors to his living quarters.

Jack had managed to obtain a pair of dark leather pants. They had already been worn out at the bottom, so Jack had to tie the ends of his pants down with some twine. He had finally had a reason to get rid of his white undershirt that had practically been see-through, and his brown cloak.

Instead, Jack had on a thin, black, long-sleeved shirt on that had a connecting black cowl. The cowl covered his mouth and nose. Jack shielded his eyes by wearing a dark blue hood that draped across his shoulders and tied at the front, much like his old cloak… just shorter.

Jack still refused to wear shoes. He just wouldn't. He did think it was a good idea to wear some fingerless gloves, though. It helped him keep his grip on his staff.

He had also been training himself ever since the blizzard. He refused to be unable to protect others. Whether it was training with his staff (which now had a short, curved blade on the end) or practicing with his powers, Jack had made himself stronger. Without anyone's help. That fact made him happy.

 _Happy_.

Jack hasn't been happy in what seemed like a long time. The few times he actually allowed himself to show any joy and have fun was when he went out to carry winter across the world. One of his favorite places was a small town in Pennsylvania. It was where he had first awoken as the Host.

 _Actually…_ Jack felt like going there now. He had been feeling tense over the past couple of days, and he needed to let loose with some of the kids. Jack thought about grabbing a cup or two of some blood to drink. He hadn't had any in a while. Ultimately, he decided against it. He could just come back later and get some. A couple of hours without wouldn't hurt.

* * *

"You better have a good reason for callin' us here, mate."

"Trust me! I do!"

North wobbled around the elves surrounding his feet and gestured wildly towards the huge globe in the center of the room.

"Pitch…was here!"

"Pitch?" Tooth fluttered around fretfully. Sandy looked nervous and worried.

Aster's nose twitched at the mention of the Boogeyman. "And you're sure he was here, mate?"

"Well, he wasn't here, but… he was _here._ A shadow of him. I feel it." North stared at everyone with wide eyes. "In my belly!" To prove his point he jiggled his stomach, sloshing the liquids around inside.

Aster glared at him. "In your belly, huh? You called us, _me,_ here because of your belly? _Three days before Easter?_ " Aster let loose an unamused laugh. "Mate, if I did this to you three days before Christmas-"

North patted Aster on the cheek. "But Easter is not Christmas, yes?" He left Aster looking more than a little disgruntled.

"Ha, ha… here we go." Aster hopped after North. "I don't have time for this! I've still got two million eggs to paint!"

"Oh but no matter how much you paint, it's still egg!"

"Mate, I'm dealing with perishables!"

The two continued to banter, ignoring everyone else. Tooth was fluttering around the room and sending out orders to her little tooth fairies.

Sandy was the only one who noticed the beam of light that was beginning to form through the room. _The Moon!_

Sandy started making sand shapes over his head, but North and Aster weren't paying attention, and Tooth was being oblivious.

"-and you've got all year to prepare!"

"Oh, why are rabbits always so nervous?" North chuckled.

"And why are you always such a blowhard?"

"What would you say? Easter is 'bodgy' compared to Christmas?"

"I'd say you should stop yabberin' mate…" Aster said threateningly.

Sandy was becoming frustrated.

"Okay, we've got one lateral incisor and two molars at AK-5… Is that all in one house?"

"Tooth! Can't you see we're trying to argue?"

Tooth rolled her eyes. "Sorry." She didn't sound sorry at all. "Not all of us work one day out of the year. Am I right, Sandy?" Tooth looked at him with a grin.

 _Finally!_ Sandy made a sand arrow point at the moon, but Tooth just gasped and started giving off commands again.

"I mean come on North. Pitch has been gone since the Dark Ages. I mean, we made sure of it!"

"I know it was him, Bunny. We've got serious situation!"

"Well I've got a serious situation with some eggs-"

The three unaware guardians all stopped to look at Sandy as he shook an elf. The poor thing could barely walk after Sandy dropped it.

All the Sandman did was make an image of a moon and point.

North's eyes widened. "Oh, Man in Moon! Why didn't you say something Sandy?"

Sandy blew sand out of his ears in anger. North turned back to the moon, unmindful of Sandy's annoyance.

"It's been long time, my friend! What is big news?"

The four guardians backed away from where the moon was shining its beams of light on the floor. They all watched in growing horror as an image of the Boogeyman was formed.

"You were right… it is Pitch." Aster glanced at his friend.

North simply patted his belly. "Manny, what would you have us do?"

The Moon's beam of light strengthened and lit up the floor even brighter, causing a clear gem to rise up from the ground.

Tooth's eyes widened. "Uh guys… you do know what this means, right?"

"He's choosing a new guardian!" North looked excited.

Aster looked completely stunned. "What? Why?"

North shook his head. "Must be big deal… Manny must think we need help."

Aster snorted. "Since when do we need help?"

Tooth looked eager. "Oh, I wonder who it's going to be!"

Sandy formed a flour leaf clover over his head.

"Maybe the leprechaun? Hmm… but what about Cupid!" Tooth nodded enthusiastically.

Bunny was simply whispering, "Please not the Groundhog, please not the Groundhog…"

They all watched in anticipation as Manny's light slowly formed an image above the crystal. And then all at once, it shaped an illusion of a boy whose body was covered from his head to his ankles. The only thing bare were his feet and the tips of his fingers.

And the only reason they knew who it was, was from the staff the image carried.

"Jack Frost." North said simply.

"I take it back, the Groundhog's fine."

Tooth was looking at the image of Jack with something akin to adoration. "So long as he helps to protect the children, right?" Her little fairies were crooning over Jack as well. Aster ignored the annoyance he felt at Tooth.

"Jack Frost? He doesn't _care_ about the children! All he's good for is freezing water pipes and messin' with my egg hunts!" Aster groaned. "He's an irresponsible, selfish, -"

"Guardian." North interrupted.

Aster shook his head. "Jack Frost is many things, but he's not a Guardian."

"He _will_ be. Manny said so!" North chortled at Bunny. "Since you seem to dislike him so much, _you_ can go get him!"

"What?!"

Tooth and Sandy laughed. Well, Sandy laughed as much as the tiny, mute man could.

* * *

Jack was grinning against the wind that was guiding him and pressing against his body. The wind allowed him to glide through a small city in Italy. He hadn't yet made it to Burgess.

Jack had pulled down his mask and hood from his face to get rid of the feeling of confinement that they caused him. He liked to wear them because then he wouldn't have to control his appearance as much. He could let his eyes change and let the veins rise across his face. But he only wore them while in the company of others.

Jack was moving so very quickly through the small town. He froze a young boys tongue to a water fountain, caused a man's papers to flutter out of his open window, he made a man slip on ice… and laughed the entire time doing so.

Jack flew to the tip of a large cathedral, and hung off the spire at the top.

"Wind!" He yelled giddily. "Take me to Burgess!"

The wind lifted him and dashed him across the rest of Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, he arrived in the town of Burgess, and giggled as he flew around. He did a few flips and twirls through the sky before yelling, "Snow Day!" He dashed through the sky, summoning a light snow fall and made it as white and fresh as he could make it.

As he was flying, he noticed a boy walking with his friends and reading. Jack's wind had knocked the book out of his hands and sent it flying a couple of feet away from him. The boy chased after it.

Jack let the wind carry him towards the boy before landing gracefully on the ground, bending down to take a look at the title of the book.

 _The boy likes myths and stuff then? Cool._

"So you like reading?" Of course, the boy didn't hear him, and thus didn't respond. Jack tried to not feel too put off.

"I like to read to. But I mainly read reports and… well, it's all really boring." Jack paused and started flying right above the boy's head. As the kids were walking up a snow covered hill to a house, they talked about an egg hunt that was on this upcoming Sunday. Jack would probably come back to Burgess to watch the egg hunt. He liked watching them.

Sometimes Jack would even catch glimpses of Bunny. _Those were some very nice glimpses of Cottontail…_

So yeah. Jack admitted to himself about twenty years after the blizzard of '68 that he had a sort of… crush, on the Rabbit. Although the word 'crush' didn't completely capture what Jack felt towards the Rabbit. Lust? Definitely. Want? Yep. Longing? Oh, yeah.

Jack wanted more than just a few trysts with the overgrown rabbit though. He knew that his Kangaroo would never want that though. Certainlynot since the blizzard that Jack had caused.

He listened to the boy and his friends talk. They were discussing Bigfoot. Jamie was adamant that it was real. The boy's friends thought otherwise.

Jack was walking on top of their house's fence, balancing with his toes and resting his staff over his shoulder.

"Come on Jamie, there's no way Bigfoot is real, ya know?" One of the twins said this. Jack doesn't know which one was which.

"But they found evidence!"

"Yeah okay. Bigfoot it about as real as the Easter Bunny." The other twin said this.

"The Easter Bunny _is_ real." Jamie grumbled.

Jack laughed. "Oh, the Easter Bunny is real alright." Jack laughed again. "Real annoying, real grumpy, and _real_ full of himself." Sighing, he added, "It's quite charming actually."

Jamie and his friends were still talking as a little blonde girl came running down the steps, and-

 _Ouch._ The little girl started wailing after she fell over.

"Mom! Sophie fell again!" Jamie yelled as he and his friends started walking towards the gate in the fence.

Sophie stopped crying when Jamie's mother opened the door to check on her and a dog ran out and started licking the kid on the cheek.

"Abby, get down!" The dog put its head down and shuffled away.

"Jamie get back here and put this hat on! You don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose." His mom shouted.

"Who's Jack Frost?" Jack looked between Jamie and his mother, startled.

Jamie ran over to his mother and she shoved the hat on his head with a smile. "No one sweetie, just a myth."

Jack flinched and yelled angrily, "Hey!"

Everyone ignored him and the pain in his voice.

"Are you boys going to the egg hunt this weekend?"

The twins both nodded. "Yes, Mrs. Bennet."

"Good! Maybe you will all see the Easter Bunny?" Mrs. Bennet gave a wink before she turned to Sophie who said, "Bunny! Hop, hop, hop!"

"Bye Mom!"

"You boys be careful!"

Jack followed Jamie and the twins as they walked over to a snow laden park across the street. There were a bunch of other children who were playing.

"A myth, huh?" Jack whispered. He bent down and made a snowball before blowing on it. It turned a sparkly blue. "I'll show you a myth."

Jack lifted his arm up, aimed, and threw the snowball. It whistled through the sky before smacking Jamie in the back of the head.

Jamie sputtered as he brushed the snow off the back of his head. Then he laughed as Jack's 'Fun Snow' (as he liked to call it) started to take effect.

"Alright, who threw that?"

No one fessed up, so Jamie gathered snow in his hands and threw a snowball at a girl making a snowman a few feet away.

The girl fell over when it hit. "Jamie Bennet! What was that for?"

Jamie only laughed before having another snowball in his face. Then, an all-out battle between the children started. Snowballs were flying left and right.

Jack started running across the snow and summoned up a bunch of snowballs for the kids. "Here's some ammo!"

Jack was throwing snowballs with the kids and having a blast. He loved having fun and helping others have fun, but sometimes he gets so lost in being the Host that he forgets to go out and let loose.

Jack halted in his running as one of the kids started freaking out.

"Crud, I hit Cupcake!"

"…She hit Cupcake."

"Oh no."

All the kids stood tensely. Jack flew over to the kids and looked at a girl with short black hair, whose name was, apparently, Cupcake. She turned around slowly and started to growl.

Jack hoped on top of his staff and gripped the wood with his toes. He summoned another snowball as the girl started approaching the kids. He blew on it, turning it blue like the last one, and hurled it.

Almost as soon as the girl was hit all of the other kids were freaking out.

"Did you throw that?"

"No, did you?"

"Who threw that?"

It took them all a second to realize that Cupcake was giggling, and then full on laughing.

Next thing they knew, the snow battle was back in motion. Jack flew next to the kids as they ran away from Cupcake who was holding her snowman's head. Jack flew next to Jamie, who was holding a sled that he had previously been using as a shield.

Jack grinned as an idea came to mind.

"Be careful, it's slippery!" And then he formed ice under Jamie.

The boy landed on the sled and started racing down the hill. The other kids all yelled and started chasing after their friend. Jack laughed while Jamie screamed.

The ice led Jamie into the street and Jack worked on keeping the kid safe.

"Don't worry! I got ya!"

The ice Jack summoned made Jamie swerve in and out of traffic and pedestrians.

"Hey, slow down!" A man shouted.

"Is that Jamie Bennet?" A woman exclaimed.

Jamie simply screamed in response.

Jack laughed as he led the boy on his ice trail, but that laughter stopped when he saw a flash of grey out of the corner of his eye. Jack turned his head to see what it was, but he didn't notice anything.

Jack turned back to look at where Jamie was going and noticed a huge truck barreling towards them.

"Uh oh…" Jack turned the ice as quickly as possible while lifting it into the sky. "You're gonna be fine!"

Jamie, again, screamed. It's not like he could hear Jack's assurances.

The kids had caught up to Jamie and saw as he flew over them on the sled. Jamie landed in a heap in front of a fountain that Jack landed on gracefully. The kids were all tense as they waited for Jamie to get up.

Which he did. "That was so much fun! Did you all see that! I was like, 'swoosh' and then I was like -"

A couch hit Jamie. Jack winced.

"Ow… Sorry kid. I've gotta work on that."

Jamie got up slowly before lifting his arm up for the kids to see. "Look! A tooth!"

"Oh sweet! You know what that means?" One of the twins said. "Tooth Fairy cash." The other finished.

"Oh come on!" Jack yelled exasperatedly. "What about all the fun we just had?"

He jumped off the fountain onto the couch before landing in the snow.

"Yeah!" Jamie said excitedly. "I wonder what I'll buy with it?"

"Not much. It's a _quarter_." Jack said tiredly. The kids were walking away from him, so Jack flew in front of them and tried talking to them again.

Jack huffed out a dry laugh. "What's a guy gotta do to get a little attention around here-"

Jack cut off in pain as Jamie walked right through him. Clutching his chest, he slowly felt his face start to change. Jack drew up his hood and his cowl before flying off.

* * *

Aster had to admit to himself that the little winter sprite was adorable when he was laughing. His eyes glowed the brightest blue, and his smile stretched delicately on his face. Aster supposed he should have intercepted the boy by now, but he was curious about him.

He wanted to know what Jack was like.

He hadn't seen the boy for over forty years, and ever since the blizzard of '68, he had only caught glimpses of the winter spirit.

Aster had watched as Jack had flown next to the boys who had talked about the upcoming Easter Hunt. So when Jack had said that he, Aster, was _charming_ … well he had to admit that his heartbeat sped up a little.

 _Did_ _Jack_ …?

No. He couldn't. There's no way the larrikin would find him attractive. He was a _bunny_ for crying out loud. Or, well, a Pooka technically, but technicalities didn't really matter in this situation.

Aster had shook himself free of his thoughts in time to hear the mother of the kid Jack was with say that he was no one, and just a myth. Aster couldn't help the little pang of sympathy that rang through him when he had seen Jack flinch. And his voice sounded so hurt…

But Jack was moving again, and Bunny had to follow. It would be all too easy to lose the winter spirit. He had only found him because this was where he would see Jack the most. He had honestly just gotten lucky.

Aster was too far away to hear anything other than the loudest laughs, but he watched as the kids and Jack started throwing snowballs. Jack looked so happy. His bright, white hair was catching the sun stunningly, and his movements were so, so beautiful, and his pale skin (the little bit that Aster could see) was so flawless.

Sure, Aster supposed that he shouldn't find the sprite attractive as they weren't even the same species… but millions, even billions of years completely alone could change one's views of what they found desirable.

Aster almost got angry when Jack made the boy slip onto his sled and go out into traffic, but when Aster noticed that Jack was guiding the boy away from danger, Aster's feelings changed to fondness.

 _Maybe I was a bit too hasty in sayin' the little larrikin didn't care about children…_

Aster wasn't really worried about concealing himself from Jack anymore. The sprite was too caught up in keeping the boy safe. Or so Aster thought.

Apparently Jack _had_ seen him. So as soon as Aster saw him turning his head towards his own direction, he ducked behind a building.

Bunny used his nose to continue to chase after them. He popped his head up in time to see a truck rushing towards the little boy. He watched as Jack caused some ice to launch the boy into the air before landing in front of a fountain that Jack landed on delicately. The kid was, thankfully, alright, but even still, a couch rammed into him.

Aster practically felt the annoyance and hurt rolling off of Jack when the kids started talking about Tooth.

"What about all the fun we just had?"

Aster stared with interest as Jack flew and landed in front of the children.

"What's a guy gotta do to get a little attention around here-"

 _Oh._ These kids didn't believe in him, and from what Jack had just said indicated that he didn't have many… if any at all.

Aster had never been walked through in all his years. He had no idea what it felt like. So when he saw the face of pain that Jack made as he clutched at his chest, Aster wanted to leap out of his hiding spot and hold the boy close. He wanted to smooth away the pain with his mouth. He wanted-

 _No. Not right now, Aster._

He guessed that the time to get the sprite back to the Pole was, well… now, but he wanted to watch the boy a little longer. He figured that he could take a little time.

He could just say it took a while to find the winter spirit.

* * *

Jack glared up at the moon.

"You… You put me here!" Huffing, he added. "I-I've _tried everything_ … but they still don't see me."

"Talk to me!" Jack screamed.

Of course, it didn't. The Moon never replied.

Jack lowered his head. No one would be able to see his face now, especially not with the hood and cowl. There was no one around to see it anyway.

Jack flew to for a mile or two before landing on a powerline, spreading frost with every step he took. Jack watched as he saw the Sandman's sand flow through the sky. Jack thought it was beautiful. He always looked forward to when he would get to see it. He never got to when he was at his fortress.

There were no kids, so no sand.

Jack laughed airily as he brushed his fingers through the sand that flowed by him. Sand images of dolphins started floating about. Jack just sat down on the power lines and watched the night sky fill with dream sand. Gradually it all disappeared because all of the children were now asleep.

Sighing, Jack stood up and got ready to return to his castle. He needed to drink some blood. He could feel it in his skin. When he went to long without blood, his appearance would change and stay changed until he _did_ drink.

Jack hated when that happened. It didn't do it often, but every once in a while he would get caught up in work and would forget to drink. It really was an annoyance.

Jack lifted into the air only to gasp when he felt something dart behind him. He turned swiftly and saw a flash of grey going in-

 _There._

Jack followed the faint smell that the creature had left behind. He needed to make sure it wasn't anything that would harm the children.

 _Damn. Whatever it is I'm following, it smells pretty good. Like flowers? And what else… grass?_

Jack flew through the sky hastily, mind now focused completely on finding what was running around Burgess.

He recoiled when he saw the grey figure flash by him again. Jack flew and jumped across buildings athletically before he landed in an alleyway. Jack brandished his staff and spread his legs in a fighting stance. He slowly turned in a circle, examining his surroundings and keeping his balance shifting between his bare feet.

"Hello, mate."

Australian accent. Great. That was who smelled so good. Jack will _never_ get that smell out of his mind now.

Jack slowly turned around. "Bunny! Hey, how's it going?"

Aster watched as Jack leaned against his staff. Sniffing, he ignored Jack's question.

"It's been a while hasn't it? Since '68?"

Jack tensed up and stood up off of his staff. "You're still mad about that, huh?"

"Yes. But… I'm here for a different reason, Frostbite."

 _A different reason? What reason would he have to search for me? And did he just call me-_

"Fellas?"

 _What?_

Jack felt a huge hand grip his black undershirt and lift him up. Instinctually, Jack flipped himself over the things arm and shoved his weight against it. It snapped under his pressure. If he hadn't been a vampire he wouldn't have been able to do that without the help of his wind.

Jack landed on his feet agilely and stepped away from what had gripped him. He paused when he noticed it was a yeti.

 _A yeti?_

What did a yeti want with him? What did Bunny want with him? What-?

 _Shit_. He had just broken a yeti's arm. Jack hoped North wouldn't be too mad. He didn't want to be hated by the guardians, but he didn't care if they liked him. Except for maybe Bunny… Jack wouldn't mind being more than liked by the rabbit. But… He had just tried to kidnap Jack. Why?

Jack looked at Bunny, glaring from underneath his hood. He didn't like being almost kidnapped.

"So. You want to explain to me why you just tried to kidnap me?" Jack had dropped his staff when the yeti had grabbed him, so Jack bent down to snatch it up after brushing nonexistent dirt off his pants.

Aster was staring at him with an edge of… cautiousness? And a bit of thoughtfulness. Jack simply stared back, waiting for the rabbit to answer. If Jack was being honest he would have said that having Bunny inspect him made him a little warm…

Aster shook himself and said, "We need you back at the North Pole." When Jack just kept staring at him, he added, "We… uh ya know, me and the other guardians? We have something really important to talk about with ya."

Jack stepped towards Aster and away from the yetis. When did the other one show up? Oh well, at least the other one can take care of the yeti's broken arm. Jack admitted to himself that he felt a _little_ bad about breaking its arm, but it shouldn't have surprised him! It was kind of its fault…

"What about?"

"I can't tell ya yet." Aster paused. "And just to let ya know, the whole 'let us shove Jack in sack and throw through portal' thing was all North's idea." Jack smiled a little at the rabbit's interpretation of North's voice and accent. Not that Bunny could see it.

"Alright. I'll go willingly. I'm not going to be carried in a sack though." Jack sighed. "Besides, I've always wanted to see his workshop. Could never get past the yetis though…"

Aster heard the last statement, but chose not to comment on it. One of the yetis threw down a snow globe and a vortex opened up.

"Alright then. See ya at the Pole."

Aster listened as one of the yetis spoke some strange and garbled language. It gestured at the portal.

"Me?" Aster chuckled lowly. "Not on your nelly."

Jack watched in appreciation as Bunny stretched out one of his feet and thumped twice. A hole opened up which he jumped down nimbly. A flower popped up where the hole closed.

"Cute." Jack sniffed.

Turning back to the portal, he gestured towards it. "You guys coming?"

Not waiting on an answer, Jack stepped through the portal.

* * *

Hope you all have been enjoying the story so far, and thanks to those who left feedback!

It means a lot.

Love you all

New chapter coming soon!


	7. Chapter 6

Jack _somehow_ managed to land on his feet as he was hurled out of the swirling vortex behind him. Luckily, no one was able to see his face because he was sure that his face was a light lavender. He had expected to be more graceful, but really… it was the first time he had ever gone through a portal.

And hopefully his last.

Looking up at the three guardians in front of him, he first saw a big man with a white beard.

"Hush! He's here." The man looked down at him with wide eyes.

Jack looked at a tiny golden man who was slowly sipping at some drink… that smelled like eggnog? And a woman whose wings were fluttering rapidly at her back. She looked like a rainbow with feathers. The woman wasn't paying him any mind, rather she was directing a bunch of… tiny rainbows with feathers?

Jack really wasn't impressed by any of them. They all looked pretty harmless in his opinion.

"Wow…" he whispered to himself. "You've gotta be kidding me. _This_ is the Big Four…?"

Jack realized that Bunny was the only one to have heard him. Jack looked over as he heard the rabbit sigh and roll his eyes.

"Jack Frost! We've been awaiting your arrival." North stroked his beard. "Why are you not in red sack?"

Jack raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. The yetis that just got spat out of the portal behind him was answer enough.

North gaped at the yeti's broken arm that it was clutching to its body. The other yeti led it away from the five spirits.

"I told ya it was a stupid idea, you dipstick." Aster leaned against a pillar in the room. "The boy was as mad as a cut snake. I could practically smell the anger rollin' off 'em."

Jack tensed. He had probably let himself get too angry and he had released a predator pheromone. Uh oh. Aster had literally smelt his anger. Aster had smelt him.

 _God, why do I keep thinking this way when I'm around him?_ Jack ignored his feelings and the fact that Aster had been able to smell him when he was normally _so_ careful.

"Well, I could not expect broken arm on yeti, yes?" North muttered. "I thought he would find it funny!"

"Yes," Jack started, sounding annoyed, "because who doesn't love being shoved in a sack and then tossed through a magic portal."

"See? Bunny, you should have tried harder!"

"Is this guy serious?" Jack directed his question towards Bunny, who only shrugged before continuing to examine his claws.

"Anyways!" The big man yelled. "Time for introductions, yeah? You know Bunny, obviously."

Jack snickered. "Obviously."

"This is Sandy. He's the Sandman." Jack nodded at the tiny, golden man. "And me? I'm North! Or as the children like to call me, Santa Claus!" North laughed for a moment like he had just heard the best joke. The only one to look amused was the rainbow lady.

"And this lovely woman, is Toothiana!" North covered his mouth with his hand and whispered-yelled, "but you can just call her Tooth."

"Oh hello, Jack! I've heard so much about your teeth!" The woman – Tooth – was right in front of him now. His teeth?

"My… teeth?"

And much to Jack's shock and rapidly growing anger which he was forcefully pushing down because he could _not_ let his emotions show on his face right now – Tooth had pushed his hood back and pulled his cowl down before shoving her fingers in his mouth.

"Oh they really do sparkle like freshly fallen snow!" She exclaimed dreamily. The tiny fairies all stayed away from Jack. He could tell that they were frightened of him. "And they are so… pointy! Huh."

Jack tensed before reaching up to grab her wrists tightly, tossing her hands away. He quickly pulled his cowl and hood back on. Jack looked around. He knew he was angry enough to let his predator smell through. And now that his face was hidden, his face changed within a second. He hadn't had a drink of blood in almost two weeks. He needed some, and soon. It was getting harder by the hour to hold his appearance change and anger at bay. And he could smell the blood coursing through North and Tooth's veins.

He knew he should've drank some before traveling to Burgess.

He glanced around at everyone's faces before settling on Bunny's. He was eyeing Jack with an indescribable look. He couldn't decipher it. Everyone else's face held a sense of trepidation.

Jack sighed internally. They were not making this easy. _Hopefully,_ he thought, _Bunny won't be able to tell what it is he's smelling._

"I'm sorry, Toothiana. You surprised me. Please," He said imposingly, "try to refrain from doing so again."

Jack lifted his staff before twirling it as he walked away from the four guardians. "So." He tapped an elf that was trying to run away from him (it could probably tell what he was, smaller spirits always could tell he was dangerous) and it froze before falling over. "Why exactly did you want me here? I must have done something horrible to get you four together." Jack threw in the joke to lighten the mood after what happened.

"Ah, yes!" North had shaken himself from his stupor. "You…" He paused dramatically, "are to become Guardian!"

And then all of a sudden, music was blaring in his ears and confetti was falling from somewhere above him. Jack slowly started to back away as some elves started walking towards him. They were staring up at him, frightened, and none would come closer to him than a foot or two. North was laughing and singing along to the trumpets, Tooth looked giddy, Sandy tilted his cup at Jack, and Bunny wasn't even looking at him.

Jack had backed away even more, agitation growing inside him. He bumped into something big and hairy and felt a giant hand push him forward.

Jack looked around at how everyone and everything was ignoring him and what he wanted. He didn't want this. He didn't want this at all.

Jack had to stop this. He picked up his staff, twirled it in the air once, and slammed the tip of the blade on his staff deep into North's floor with a guttural growl. Frost and a thin layer of ice spread out around Jack in a blink of an eye, and a strong gust of Jack's wind blew out all of the surrounding torches. If Jack's face hadn't looked dangerous before, it sure did now. Again, not that they could see.

"What," Jack breathed heavily, "makes you think I want to be Guardian?"

North bellowed out a laugh after the stunned expression left his face. Tooth and Sandy still looked shocked. Aster looked… Jack couldn't tell. He could _never tell_ what that damn Bunny was thinking.

"Of course you do. Music!" North cued again, and the same melody started blaring throughout the Pole.

"No!" Jack shouted, his voice deep and ragged. "No music!" He turned towards North after yanking in staff out of the ground, and started stalking towards him. "Are you all asking me to commit suicide or something? Are you crazy?"

Jack turned towards Bunny. He didn't look like he cared whether or not Jack became a guardian, but he was still going along with it! "And you! Do you dislike me that much? That you want me to die?"

Bunny stared at him with wide eyes. The others had gone silent at Jack's rage.

"Are you all so ignorant?" Jack shouted.

"Woah, mate. What are you talking about?" Aster reached out and gently toughed Jack's arm. Jack stopped looking at all of them wild eyed. Gathering himself, Jack sighed.

"I don't have any believers." Jack was getting distracted by the small circles Bunny was rubbing on his arm. "Asking me to become a guardian, is asking me to die."

Tooth let out a gasp, and Sandy started flashing images over his head. Jack ignored both of them.

"You have… no believers. At all?" Tooth asked.

Jack shook his head. "So yeah, guys. I don't want to be a guardian. Besides," Jack chuckled a little, "you're all hard work and deadlines, and I'm snowballs and fun times." _Not really, but they don't need to know about the whole Host of Winter thing…_ Jack thought.

"That's what I said!" Bunny said next to Jack. He didn't know whether to be offended or…

"Jack," Tooth said softly, "I don't think you understand what it is we do!" Tooth flew up to the globe and pointed at some of the lights that dotted it. "We help protect the children, and so, they believe in us!"

Bunny removed his warm, soft paw from Jack's arm, and Jack immediately wanted that warmth back.

He was always so _cold_ …

"Okay," Jack said, "Even so, I still don't have any believers to begin with. I can't be a guardian."

"Alright, alright. No more wishy washy! Pitch is out there doing who knows what!" North bellowed.

"Pitch?" Jack questioned. "You mean the Boogeyman?"

"Yes! When Pitch threatens us, he threatens the children!"

"Well in that case… no. Pick someone more qualified."

 _Honestly, there's got to be someone better than me to protect kids. I'm a vampire for crying out loud!_

"Pick? No!" North laughed. "You were chosen! Like we all were!"

"Chosen?"

"Yes, by Man in Moon."

"H-he… He talks to you?"

Jack slowly turned to stare up at the moon and felt its light fall across his body. "He chose me? Why didn't he tell me himself?" Jack felt anger rising inside him and _geez_ he really needed some blood.

"No… _No."_ Jack gripped his staff tightly. "So this is his answer, huh? After three hundred years? To keep me cooped up like you guys? Trying to find new ways to bribe little kids?" Jack let out an airy laugh. "That… That is _not_ for me!" Jack paused. "No offense."

"How is that _not_ offensive?" Jack heard Aster cry out. "You know what I think?" Aster nudged North in the ribs. "I think we just dodged a bullet.

 _Oh. So he_ really _doesn't like me then?_ Jack forgot about how the rabbit had just had his paw on his arm as a feeling of cold unease curled in his stomach.

"Besides, what does this _clown_ know about bringing joy to kids?"

Jack huffed. "Have you, oh I don't know, ever heard of a snow day? I mean, it's no hardboiled egg, but people _like_ what I do." Jack felt anxious as he realized what he had just said to his Cottontail. Why had he _said_ that?

"Yeah, okay. But none of them believe in you, do they? You see," Bunny almost growled, "you're invisible, mate. It's like you're not even here."

 _Oh, I… oh._ Jack felt his walls crumble around him. It's true, what Bunny said, wasn't it? He essentially was invisible. He was only here to keep winter under control. He was simply a tool created by Man in Moon.

Thanks god Jack had his cowl and hood on or, _oh god_ , they might have seen the hurt and pain on his face. And he did _not_ want their pity.

And Bunny was so, _so_ close to Jack. He could smell the flowers and grass scent that surrounded him and it smelt so good, and…

But Jack had to stop there. Or else his thoughts would lead him to what could never be. Especially not now that Jack knew what his Cottontail thought of him.

"Come, Jack. Let us talk." North stated.

Jack just turned away from Bunny and followed the big man. He had nothing to say to Bunny. Not now.

* * *

 _Oh, I'm a right whacker, aren't I?_

Aster sighed once North and Jack had left the room.

"Aster!" Tooth exclaimed. "Why would you talk to him like that?" She ruffled her feathers. "I know about the blizzard of '68 but… that was so long ago!"

Sandy made some images overhead that basically asked what had happened.

Sighing again, Aster shrugged and said, "I don't rightly know. The bloke just said that what we do is bonkers! It just pushed me buttons, is all."

Tooth tutted and shook her head before patting Aster's arm and fluttering off. She gave more directions to her girls and ignored Aster and Sandy. Sandy shrugged at Bunny and walked off to get more eggnog.

Aster walked over to the railing by the globe and leaned on it. The sprite had just… oh, he didn't even know.

It wasn't like he was mad at him! He just…

When Jack had said that he didn't have any believers, Aster had gotten so _worried_. Thinking back to how he saw that little Jamie kid walk right through Jack, he supposed he should have expected this sooner.

Aster had never experienced someone walking through him. He could imagine what it was like, but he didn't actually know. How many times had his little winter sprite been walked through? How many years had he spent alone?

It wasn't like he or any of the others had sought him out for company or to see if he was adjusting to the spirit world alright. They had all ignored the bloke.

Jack had said, what? Three hundred years? That was nothing to the Pooka, but still. It was a long time for a newly made spirit.

Aster felt guilty. He had been rude and just overall a shoddy person. And the fact that he had said that after he had thought those thoughts about the boy! That made Bunny feel even more guilt-ridden.

When Tooth had knocked back the larrikin's hood and cowl and uncovered that wind swept hair and those bright blue eyes, Aster's thoughts almost immediately started being led around by his donger.

Aster was lucky he didn't simply crack a fat in front of everyone… that would have been hard to explain.

And his teeth. They looked _sharp_. Was that normal among winter sprites? Aster didn't know, but what he _did_ know was that he had imagined those sharp teeth scraping though his fur, lightly nipping at his flesh beneath. He had been so glad that he, as a giant rabbit, had a sheath to hide his cock. He almost regretted foregoing his old dacks so many years ago.

And by the High Pookan _Gods,_ that growl the boy had let loose when he had shown some of his powers to the other guardians. That had almost been too much.

And what was that smell? Aster could only smell it when the boy seemed to be angry. But it smelled so good! It smelled dangerous. And if 'dangerous' had to have a smell, it would be Jack. It would be the smell of a cold, crisp, wind. It was the smell of a pine forest. It was the smell of something… sharp.

Sharp? _Yeah._ _That's a good description of Frostbite._

Jacks skin was so cold. Not that Aster had touched his skin, but the cold seemed to seep out of the boy's bones and skin and into the air around him. It had felt wonderful. Aster wondered if Jack liked his warmth…?

 _Okay, Aster. Not now._

When Jack said he didn't have any believers, somewhere, _deep_ in Aster's subconscious, he felt like he had been helping when he had said those things to Jack. He had thought that if he made the other guardians realize that Jack didn't want to be one of them, then they would leave him alone and he could go back to being the sprite that Aster had seen in Burgess. Aster didn't want the fun winter spirit to have all of the responsibilities that came with being a guardian.

And, if Aster was being honest, Jack had managed to… annoy him. He had made fun of what he and the other three guardians do!

They. Protected. Children!

That was their job! And if Jack thought that that was a shitty job to have, then Aster thought he didn't really deserve it.

They all worked hard. Year around. It wasn't easy.

Aster went back and forth between being guilty for what he said, and being self-righteous.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear when Tooth let out a panicked gasp. Turning around, he saw that she had tears in her eyes as one of her fairies squeaked at her hurriedly.

"Bunny, Sandy! There is something happening at my palace. Please, get North and even Jack, if he'll come along. I feel like we'll need all the help we can get. It's Pitch."

Aster nodded. "Come on Sandy."

Sandy signed 'Good luck' to Tooth.

Tooth flew quickly to the entrance of the Pole, and Aster and Sandy ran towards the room North had taken Jack. Busting through the door, Aster huffed. "We've got trouble."

They all turned to see Tooth speed past the window of the room.

"At Tooth's Palace."

* * *

"Okay. _One_ ride. That's it."

Jack hopped into the rickety sleigh with Sandy, both moving with excitement.

"Everyone loves the sleigh." North chuckled as he got in the driver's seat. "Coming, Bunny?"

"Nah, mate. I'll just take my tunnels, yeah? Probably safer, anyw - oof!"

North had grabbed Aster by the scruff of his neck, tossed him into the sleigh, and then quickly got back on the sleigh and took off. Aster never had a chance to get off.

"Oh gods." Aster held back his puke, hoping not to spew chunder everywhere.

Aster felt the world melt around him when he heard Jack's laughter next to him. They were so close together, so Aster shifted a little and made it seem like the sleigh had jostled him into that position. Their thighs were touching.

Jack laughed again. It was so bright and rich when the boy seemed to be happy. It rattled through Aster's body and warmed him in places he hadn't been warm in for centuries.

Jack seemed to notice Aster's nervousness. So Jack decided to play a prank. Might as well get him back for what he said to Jack, right?

Once they were in the sky and out of the ice tunnels, Jack slowly stood on the back of the sleigh.

"Hey, Bunny! Check out this view- agh!"

Bunny yelled and shrunk further against the seats when he saw Jack fall off the back. But he had to see if he was okay! The boy could fly, right? He had to be okay.

Aster slowly looked over the side of the sleigh to see Jack laying against one of the sleighs skis. The wind from the sleigh was shifting the boy's hood enough that Aster could see his ice blue eyes staring up at him smugly.

"Aww… you _do_ care." Jack stated with sarcasm in his voice.

"Oh, rack off ya bloody show pony!" Aster yelled down at him. He sank back down in his seat and Jack flew back on to the sleigh and sat down next to Bunny again. Their thighs were no longer touching.

Sighing, Aster just closed his eyes when ever things seemed to be moving to quickly.

North started fumbling inside a pouch that was sitting next to him. Pulling out a snow globe, he shouted, "Tooth's Palace!" and threw it.

It exploded midair in front of the sleigh, and they all went through it.

The air surrounding Tooth's palace was swarming with black… black horses?

"What?" North exclaimed, confused.

"We have to hurry!" They all looked at Jack, even North, dangerously enough. "The horses are taking the baby fairies!"

At that, Jack dashed out of the sleigh. Aster couldn't help the shout that ripped its way out of his throat.

Jack started killing the things left and right, slicing through them like butter with the blade at the end of his staff. Aster even saw him kill a few by simply ripping their heads off with his hands.

 _Damn_. _Jackie is a beaut._

Aster shook his head before brandishing his boomerangs. He had to help.

He jumped out of the sleigh and landed on a platform of Tooth's palace. Then, he let his boomerangs fly.

North had landed the sleigh on the platform above Bunny, and the Russian man brandished a pair of swords and took to slicing through as many horses as possible. Some fairies were freed but then were immediately swallowed up by another, faster horse.

All of the black sand creatures had eventually vanished. At least Jack had saved one of the fairies. Looking down at the small tooth fairy in his hands he sighed. She looked so afraid of him.

"You okay?"

Slowly she nodded and flew off to her mother who was panicking a few feet away. Bunny and Sandy looked at Jack, surprised he had managed to save one when they couldn't. The horses had been too fast for them. North was comforting Tooth, who gasped in delight when the tiny tooth fairy approached her.

"Oh, thank goodness! At least one of you is alright."

"Tooth. What happened?"

Looking at North she whispered, "Those… things were attacking my palace, taking my tooth fairies… They even took all of the teeth!"

She sniffed. "You should have seen them. My little fairies… They put up such a fight." North held her closer with one arm and she fluttered to the ground. Aster looked around, still detecting for danger. Sandy was looking at Tooth with sympathy. Jack just stood to the side, watching the guardians.

They looked, almost, like a family. It's a shame he could never be a part of it.

Tooth cried for a moment, before standing and saying, "We've got to find out where they took my fairies."

They all froze when they heard a dark but smooth voice call out, "I have to say, this is all very, very exciting."

Aster growled deep in his throat. "Pitch."

* * *

Thanks (again) for reading and leaving feedback!  
Sorry for the somewhat late chapter, I kind of lost track of time and how many days had passed since the last one.

Thanks for the patience!  
Hope you enjoyed, and love you all!


	8. Chapter 7

"The Big Four. All gathered in one place?" They all looked up when a shadow appeared over them. There, they all saw him. Pitch. "I'm a little star struck."

He laughed as he disappeared and then reappeared in a completely new position.

"Did you enjoy my show on the globe, North? Got you all together, didn't it?"

Jack stayed a little bit away from Pitch and the other Guardians. He wasn't involved in this. After Pitch left, so would Jack. He wasn't going to be a guardian, so what was the point?

Jack watched as Tooth flew towards where Pitch had last been seen. "You better give me back my teeth and fairies, Pitch! Or you _will_ regret it!" Tooth sounded extremely angry. She looked heated.

"Or what?" Pitch appeared on the platform behind her. "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?"

He was mocking her, and North seemed to get livid at this fact. "Why are you doing this, Pitch? What is the purpose of these actions?"

"Maybe I want what you have." Pitch's voice seemed to hiss in all of their ears. "To be believed in."

Well… It's not like Jack couldn't understand his motivation but still. Being believed in isn't everything. No matter how it might feel good to even have one believer. Not that Jack would know.

"Maybe…" Pitch shifted with the shadows that were strewn across Tooth's palace. "I'm tired of hiding under beds."

"Maybe that's where ya belong!"

"Oh, go suck an egg, rabbit."

Okay. That pissed Jack off a little.

"Hang on…" Jack tensed as he felt a shift of coldness brush over his neck. That wasn't his cold. "Is that Jack Frost?"

Pitch outright belted out a laugh at this. "Oh! Oh, this is grand!"

"Shut up, Pitch." Jack bit out.

"Oh, they don't know… do they? I know _everything_ about you." Pitch giggled darkly again.

"If you say anything, Pitch, I'll make you suffer so much you'll _wish_ you could die." Jack warningly whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You, _boy_ , you are a _monster_. Even more so than I am." Pitch slinked away into the shadows, and Jack ran at where he had been with a deep, harsh growl. Jack slammed the blade on his staff down on the ground where Pitch had been. When the blade hit the ground, sparks flew everywhere.

"Jackie! Don't fight 'em alone!"

Jack barely heard Bunny. He was so angry… Pitch knew. How did he know?

He had only called him a monster, though. Did he know about Jack's being the Host of Winter, though? He did say he knew everything…

Jack flew over to where the other guardians were. He refused to look at them. He stood closest to Bunny.

"I do have to ask. I'm curious." Pitch's voice echoed throughout the cavern. "When did you all become so chummy?"

"We're not." Was Jack's immediate reply.

"Oh, good. Then I can pretty much ignore you, then? Until I have use for you, that is. But you're probably use to that… aren't you?"

"Jackie, don't listen to him." Aster whispered, his mouth suddenly right next to Jack's ear. Before Jack could respond, Aster took off after Pitch.

"Pitch! You shadow sneaking rat-bag! Come here!"

Jack would have felt flattered that Bunny was defending him if Pitch hadn't immediately vanished as soon as the rabbit was on him. Tooth escaped from North's one-armed hug and grabbed one of Bunny's boomerangs. She then turned to where Pitch popped out of the shadows.

She gave a war cry as she dashed at him, but she had to retreat when one of the black horses suddenly appeared and reared up in front of her.

"Woah, girl. Easy, easy." Pitch stroked the muzzle of the black horse. "What do you all think, hm? Especially you, Sandman. It took me a while to perfect this little trick." Pitch pinched a little of the sand out of the horses hide. Sandy looked shocked and pissed.

"I call them my nightmares. Creative, yes?" Pitch disappeared again, laughing. "They can _smell your fear._ And it is so very potent."

"What? Fear of you?" Aster yelled mockingly. "No one's been 'fraid of ya since the Dark Ages!"

"Oh yes, the Dark Ages. Those were delicious times! Which the Man in the Moon ruined!" Pitch growled, golden eyes flashing. "Now, I'm going to ruin your times filled with wonder, memories, and dreams! There will be no hope for you, or for the children of the world!"

Pitch laughed darkly. "It's all about to change…"

Jack heard Tooth cry out, and turned to stare as she fell to the ground. Her colors weren't as bright as they had been, and a few of her feathers lay bent and broken next to her.

"It's happening already… Children are waking up and realizing that the Tooth Fairy never came! They are no longer believing in you! Now you can know what it feels like! To not be believed in!"

The palace around them shook slightly, and some of the golden paint started to peel off.

"They don't believe in me anymore…" Tooth whimpered.

"Pitch!" North bellowed. "We will stop you!"

Bunny threw his boomerangs at Pitch as he jumps down the platform on his nightmare. North followed after with his swords swinging. Bunny threw some egg grenades. Nothing seemed to hit the Boogeyman. Jack lands hard enough next to a pool of water that the ground cracked underneath him. Tooth fluttered down slowly. Bunny sniffed the air angrily, and North watched Tooth with a worried expression. Sandy was messing with his sand, as if confused how Pitch could have done what he did with his own dream sand.

"He's gone." Bunny rasped out. "I can't smell 'em anymore."

Jack looked over at Tooth. "I'm sorry. I wasn't able to save more of the fairies."

"No, Jack. Don't be sorry. You saved one, and that's more than I could have asked for." Her smile was watery and sad. Jack nodded at her.

"Why," Jack asked, "would Pitch take the teeth?"

"It's not the teeth he wanted, but the memories inside them."

"What do you mean?"

Tooth stood up and started fluttering over the small lagoon. She led Jack to a large mural painted on the wall.

Jack followed her and froze the water under each step he took.

"We collect teeth to preserve the memories of the children. It's to help them remember what's important." Tooth sighed. "We had everyone's… even yours."

"Mine? Y-you had my memories?" Jack couldn't believe it. Three hundred years of only remembering a voice calling him a monster, and all this time, he could have just come here. He could have known the truth! He _could_ know the truth!

"Yes, Jack. From when you were young. Before you became Jack Frost."

"What?" Jack was stunned.

He barely heard North say, "You should've seen Bunny."

"Hey! Told you to never mention that, you dunny." Aster whispered-yelled. They all turned to look back at Jack, though.

"I-I don't remember anything before waking up on the lake…" Jack said, mainly to himself. The others still heard him. "I… only have one memory. And even then I can't make out anything that's happening. It's just a voice…"

Tooth looked at him curiously. "What did the voice say, Jack?"

"I-It said…" Jack stopped himself. They don't need to know. It's… it's none of their _business._

"It's not important." Jack finished. Flying away a few feet, he ignored the looks that the other guardians were giving him. Why hadn't Moki told him something about this? The satyr knew how much his one memory haunted him. He could have said to come here and get his memories. Why hadn't he-? _Unless,_ Jack thought, _he had no idea that she collected the teeth for the memories._

"Hey, mate." Aster asked in Jack's direction. "What, exactly, was Pitch yabberin' about? When he was talking to ya?"

Jack still floating midair, tensed and slowly dropped down to stand on a rock. Jack didn't say anything for a moment.

"It's… It's nothing."

 _Please… please don't ask about this. Not now._ Jack could barely hold back his anger about how Pitch had almost told them about his vampirism. And the lack of blood wasn't helping.

"Frostbite," Bunny started, "He said you were worse than him." Pausing, Aster sniffed the air lightly. That scent was back. It screamed danger. And it was so familiar… he just couldn't remember where he had smelled it before, other than around Jack.

"He called me a monster, yes." Jack said monotonously. "Because I am. Why I'm a monster…" Jack snipped, "is _none of your business."_

The growl in Jack's voice managed to make the guardians heed his warning. They didn't ask anything else.

"Tooth." Jack said. "I'll help get the fairies and teeth back, if only so that you can show me my memories."

Tooth nodded. "Of course, Jack."

"After that, I'm gone." Jack finalized.

North and Bunny looked like they wanted to say something but decided against it.

They all forgot the previous conversation when Tooth let out a pained gasp. A few of her feathers fell off of her body.

"The children… We're too late." Tooth said, sounding defeated.

"No! No!" North declared. He ran to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "No such thing as too late!"

Suddenly, he gasped. "Wait!" he laughed. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. Idea! HAH!"

Jack raised an eyebrow underneath his hood. The other guardians watched North curiously.

" _We_ will collect the teeth!"

"What?" Tooth exclaimed. "W-we're talking seven continents! _Millions_ of kids!"

"Give me break! You know how many toys I deliver in one night?" North boasted.

"And eggs I hide in one day?" Bunny bragged.

Sandy gave a thumbs up and a smile in Tooth's direction.

Turning towards Jack, North said, "If you help us with this, we will get your memories."

Taking a glance at Tooth, she smiles at him reassuringly. Bunny is looking at him intently as well.

Jack nodded once. "I'm in."

* * *

They were in Shanghai. The sky was clear and stars were shining down brightly. North was bursting up out of chimneys, Sandy was using his sand tendrils, Tooth was zipping every which way, and Bunny was sprinting across the rooftops with Jack flying next to him.

"Quickly! Quickly!" North yelled out, laughing.

Jack giggled while soaring next to Bunny. "Hop to it rabbit, I'm five teeth ahead!"

Bunny and Jack managed to keep up with one another even with all of the dodging and weaving they both had to do.

"Yeah right, Snowflake!" Bunny shouted back at Jack. "Look, I'd tell ya to stay outta my way, but really, what's the point?" Bunny grinned at Jack. "You won't be able to keep up anyway."

"Ohhhh…" Jack giggled again. Bunny thought it was such a delightful sound. "Is that a challenge, Cottontail?"

 _Cottontail?_ Aster liked that. "Oh, you don't wanna race a rabbit, mate."

Jack and Bunny raced, and Jack played a few pranks on the rabbit. Jack would admit, he was having fun.

Eventually, all of the guardians and Jack meet up. All of them hold up their individual bags and show them off to Tooth.

"Wow! You guys collect teeth and leave gifts as fast as my fairies."

Jack winced and the other three eye's widened.

"You guys have been leaving gifts… right?"

North, Sandy, Bunny and Jack all shrugged.

Tooth groaned.

* * *

Jack found that the Burgess was there last stop for teeth, and was surprised to find Tooth gazing dreamily down at Jamie of all kids.

"Kids, huh?" He looked at Jamie as Tooth hovered over the sleeping boy.

"Yeah… this is the part I miss the most. Seeing the kids."

"It's a little different up close, huh?"

Tooth nodded at him with a slight smile.

"Thanks… you know, for being here Jack. I wish I'd known about your memories. I could've helped you."

Jack got a little flustered. "Yeah well, look. Let's just get you taken care of, and then it's Pitch's turn. Right?"

Their conversation got interrupted by North. "Here you are!" The big man lumbered through the window and made a _lot_ of noise. Jack was amazed that Jamie didn't wake up. Sandy and a tooth fairy came in after him.

"Quiet! You'll wake him." Tooth whispered.

North smiled. "How are you feeling, Tooth?"

She grinned. "Believed in."

"Oh I see how it is, yeah?" They all turned to see Bunny jumping out of one of his tunnels. "All working together to make sure the rabbit comes in last place."

"Oh please," Jack snorted, "You think I need help beating a rabbit? Check it out, Cottontail!" Jack lifted his bag of teeth to show Bunny.

Bunny huffed at him. "You call that a bag of choppers?" Bunny revealed his larger sack of teeth. "This is a bag of choppers!"

"Gentlemen! This is about Tooth! It's not a competition. But if it was -" North revealed a sack twice the size of Aster's. "I win. YEAHHHH!" North struck some sort of Russian dancing pose as he celebrated his victory, but his laughter was cut short as a flashlight was suddenly shined on them. Jack was standing next to Jamie's bed, away from the other guardians, so the light was nowhere near him.

"Santa Claus?" Jamie whispered. "The Easter Bunny? Sandman? And… and the Tooth Fairy!" The boy laughed. "I knew you'd come!"

"Surprise! We came!" Tooth giggled.

"He can see-?" But Jack was cut off when Jamie jumped out of bed and ran right through him. Jack fell back against the wall and clutched at his chest. His breathing was irregular and wheezy for a moment.

 _Gods… why did that hurt so badly?_ Looking up at the ceiling and his head against the wall, he held still for a looked up when the pain went away, and found he was being watched by the others with unease. Bunny's face held the most concern.

"Sandy, knock the kid out!" Aster mumbled.

Jamie had worry flash over his face. The other guardians looked at him like he was crazy.

"With the dreamsand, ya gumbies."

A growl sounded throughout the room, and they all watched as Jamie held down his dog who was staring straight at Bunny. "No! Down, Abbey!"

"Alright, nobody panic." Bunny said while standing up straighter.

Jack had a plan forming in his head. He had already let go of what happened with Jamie. It wasn't the first time that's happened, and it won't be the last.

"Bunny… you know that's um… that's a greyhound? You do know what greyhounds do to rabbits?"

"I think it's a pretty safe bet that he's never met a rabbit like me."

"Six foot one, nerves of steel, master of tai-chi and the ancient -"

Jack saw an alarm clock. Tapping it with his staff, it started blaring. That set the dog off.

" _Crikey_!" Jack was wheezing he was laughing so hard. The dog was chasing Bunny around the room, both of them knocking things over in their game of cat-and-mouse.

Sandy formed a sand ball to make the dog fall asleep, but, unfortunately, he missed when he threw it. The ball of sand ricocheted off of the walls and ceiling, and somehow, managed to hit everyone except for Jack and Sandy.

Looking down at the sleeping Bunny, he saw a little dancing carrot. "Oh my god. That's so adorable."

Looking up, he saw Sandy giving him a look.

"What?" Jack asked.

They both paused when they heard a snort coming from the window. There was a nightmare!

Jack started flying after it when it bolted away from the window. Turning around he said, "Come on, Sandy! We can find Pitch!"

Sandy immediately follows after him.

They left too quickly to see the door to Jamie's room open and let a little girl in. Sophie managed to snatch a snow globe off of North and look into it. She sees Bunny over the top of the globe.

"Bunny! Hop! Hop! Hop!"

She drops the globe and walks right through the portal. The room goes dark.

* * *

"Come on, Sandy! Hurry!"

Jack and Sandy both zip over and around buildings in a hot pursuit of the nightmares. Another nightmare suddenly pops up. Sandy goes after one while Jack goes after the other.

Jack parkours over a few buildings before letting a shot of ice shoot from the tip of his staff. The blast hit the nightmare and crippled it. Jack watched as the nightmare felt to the ground. It was just a pile of frozen, black sand now.

"Sandy! Did you see that?" Jack poked the dead nightmare with his staff. "Look at this thing."

Jack paused and sniffed the air. He smelled something…

Jack turned around quickly and saw Pitch standing behind him. Jack lifted the bladed tip of his staff and slashed it down at Pitch. He missed. Pitch started darting away through the shadows that lined the buildings.

"You know…" Pitch called from the shadows. "For a 'neutral party' you sure do spend a lot of time with these weirdos."

"Yeah well these 'weirdos' are actually pretty nice so…"

Jack shot blast after blast of his frost at Pitch, who, somehow, manage to dodge and crawl back to the shadows every time.

"This isn't your fight, Jack."

"You made it my fight when you stole those teeth." Jack snarled.

Pitch stepped out of the shadows and watched as Jack tensed up. Slowly, Pitch started collecting black sands in his hands and formed a long scythe.

"Now… why do you care about the teeth?" Pitch asked peculiarly.

"That's not your concern."

Pitch suddenly grinned, knowingly. Snarling, he swung the scythe at Jack. It surprised him, and he barely ducked quickly enough. The tip of Pitch's weapon scraped the back of Jack's head, and ripped his hood off. A piece of it laid on the ground a few feet away.

 _Shit. There goes my hood._

Pitch ducked suddenly, and Jack saw a whip made out of golden sand snap above where his head had been.

Laughing deeply, Pitch grinned. "Yes! Now this is who I was looking for!"

Pitch swung the black scythe, causing Jack to duck and Sandy to dart into the air. Pitch ran after Sandy, ignoring Jack. Jack pulled his hood the rest of the way off and dropped it on the ground. It was ruined. He would have to be more careful with his feelings until he could get another one. His eyes, ears, and hair were all left barren to anyone's gaze. It made Jack uncomfortable. At least he still had his facemask.

Jack took off after the two. The three of them chased after each other until, finally, Sandy snapped the whip around Pitch's ankle. He threw the Boogeyman to the ground. Hard.

Jack heard something snap and crack, but it didn't seem to faze the evil man.

"Okay, easy there, Sandman!" Pitch was cowering?

Jack was still tense. Something was up.

"You can't blame me for trying. You don't know what it's like to be hated and powerless. It was idiotic of me to mess with your sand… So I'll tell you what," Pitch straightened up and glared up at Sandy, no longer cowering. "You can have it back!"

Hundreds upon hundreds of nightmares started surrounding them. They were… _everywhere._ There was no way Jack and Sandy could take them all on alone.

Then they heard the sound of bells. Pitch looked up, confused. The sleigh was flying through the sky, and in it, there was Tooth, Bunny and North. They were all asleep. So who had been flying…?

The sleigh practically crashed into a building, jolting the three guardians awake.

Jack turned back to Sandy and Pitch, only to find himself being thrown up into the air by Sandy's dreamsand. Jack had been distracted, and Sandy had protected him from oncoming nightmares.

Jack watched as Sandy and Pitch dashed about in the sky, way out of reach for the other guardians to help. The others were busy with the nightmares on the ground anyways. So, Jack had to help Sandy.

Jack raced towards the two of them, slicing and freezing nightmares that were in his way left and right.

A nightmare that Jack hadn't seen crashed into Jack, causing him to loose hold of his staff. Cursing, Jack careened through the air, as he couldn't control the wind without his staff. Jack fell and fell. And with every foot the got closer to the ground, his staff got closer to his outstretched hand.

Jack managed to catch his staff, and had the wind start to lift him up. Unfortunately, the wind wasn't fast enough. Jack hit the side of a building and then the top of a dumpster. Groaning, he slowly stood. That had _hurt._

Jack started running back out to the street to continue helping, but ran into a worried Bunny.

"Oi! Are you okay, Snowflake?" Aster looked over Jack, his paws hovering as if he didn't know what to do with them.

Jack was feeling a bit warm, but he didn't have time to analyze what was going on right now. They had to get back to the fight.

"I'm okay, Bunny." Jack pushed through his anxiety and put a cool hand on Bunny's shoulder. It was so warm and the fur so soft. "Just had a rough landing."

The rabbit paused and said, "Aster. Call me Aster, mate. It's me name."

"Alright… Aster." Jack and Bunny paused, looking at each other. Bunny realized that Jack didn't have his hood on, and that he could clearly see his beautiful blue eyes and his pointed ears and his windswept hair and _not right now_ _Aster_.

 _Think about this some other time._

"Come on." Jack mumbled. "We need to get back and help the others."

Bunny nodded and followed after Jack. When they turned the corner of the building, they saw the nightmares swarming over Tooth and North.

"Duck!"

Jack didn't even ask why. But the 'why' was answered when he saw Aster's boomerangs flew over his head and took out almost ten nightmares.

Jack gripped his staff tightly and started twirling it around his body. Whenever a nightmare got too close, he would tip his staff in just the right way through all of his twirls to slice his blade through them. Occasionally, Jack would let loose a couple of ice shards from his staff towards the other guardians to keep some of the nightmares off of their backs.

Jack spared a glance up at where Sandy was still battling Pitch and gasped. He was surrounded by black, swirling sand where a few nightmares would pop out every once and a while. He was using his golden whips to keep them at bay, but the shadows were drawing closer to the golden man.

"We have to help Sandy!" Jack shouted to the others.

"Come to the sleigh!" North yelled. The guardians all ran to jump into the red sleigh, and killed any nightmares that got in their way.

North straightened the machine out and managed to get the reindeer under control. The sleigh was jerky when it took off, but it stabilized about a hundred feet in the air.

Jack gasped again when he saw that Pitch was leveling a huge black arrow at Sandy's back.

" _NO!"_

Jack took off towards Pitch and Sandy faster than the speed of sound. The wind roaring in his ears forced his facemask down. His face was completely uncovered.

"Jack wait!" He heard Tooth call after him.

Pitch let the arrow loose, and Jack let go. He just… let go.

Everything went in slow motion as he watched the arrow smack Sandy in the back.

"Stay back, vampire!" Pitch yelled at Jack. The others were too far away, but Sandy heard.

Jack took a look at Sandy's face and saw a flash of wonder go over his face, before a sense of understanding. The black sand was slowly creeping up Sandy's body and Jack felt this pure, raw anger.

Jack's felt his eyes change and the veins took over his face. His fingernails lengthened and his teeth tripled in length and sharpness.

Jack saw as Sandy was overtook by the black sand, but he held his head high as he died.

Jack roared as he charged at Pitch. He released a shot of his ice from his staff. He used almost all of his power in that one shot. The ice crackled and thundered across the sky, and clouds started to surround the guardians. There was lightning and wind that rattled everyone's bones. The ice hit Pitch straight in the chest.

Everyone heard him scream. Pitch jumped onto a nightmare before running away, clutching his chest. The last thing Jack saw was ice slowly creeping over Pitch's torso before he went unconscious.

* * *

Everyone in the sleigh gave a panicked gasp as they saw Sandy's back get pierced by the black arrow.

And everyone tensed in fear as they heard Jack roar. It was so loud, and thunderous, and ear-splitting.

The sleigh bucked against the sudden onslaught of wind, and Bunny nearly got knocked out of the sleigh. There was snow flying sideways, and lightning flashed through the sky. All of the guardians watched in awe as Jack let go of a huge blast of bright, white and blue ice that hit Pitch straight in the chest.

Aster gave a shout as he saw Jack start to fall out of the sky.

"Quick, North! We have to catch 'em!"

North angled the sleigh towards Jack, who landed in Aster's arms.

The boy looked –

Aster froze. What… What was this?

He… Jackie. He was a vampire. That was what Aster smelled on him all the time. That predatory smell. The winter sprite had black veins stretching away from his mouth and eyes. His mouth was slightly open, revealing a set of four long, sharp fangs.

Aster shook his head. How? How had he not known? How had they not realized?

"Tooth…" Aster whispered.

"What, Aster?"

"Look." He gestured down to Jack with his head.

Tooth's horrified gasp made North turn to look behind him. "What is going on -" North paused and stared at Jack with something akin to worry. "What happened to him?"

"Nothing. He's…" Aster couldn't finish.

"He's a vampire, Nicholas." Tooth glared at Jack's unconscious body.

Aster suddenly felt protective. Yeah the boy was a… was a bloody vampire, but he had helped them! He had never hurt them! He had never hurt anyone – or had he?

Is that what Pitch had been talking about at Tooth's palace? Is that why he had called Jack a monster?

Aster held the sprite's body closer to his. "North," He murmured. "Drive the sleigh. Let's get back to the Pole. We'll handle this there."

Nodding, North went back to driving. Aster pretended to not notice Tooth's long, hate-filled looks directed at Jack.


	9. Chapter 8

Back at the Pole, the last three guardians converged in the globe room once North had commanded some yetis to take Jack to the medical wing.

They had all been silent so far. No one knew how to broach the subject of… Jack.

Tooth finally broke the silence.

"That boy," she snarled "will hurt someone. If he hasn't already!" She was walking, and pacing back and forth. "He _cannot_ become a guardian. He will… he'll eat the children! He'll drink their blood!"

She looked at Aster and North. "He'll kill them!"

"Now, now, Tooth. We know that you had bad experience with vampire, but you cannot lay blame on Jack for what the other did." North told her in a soft voice. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. She pulled out after a moment.

"I was _mauled_ by that vampire! I could barely talk or move for weeks! The only reason I'm still alive is because I'm a guardian."

Aster glared at her. "Ye can't blame Jackie for what another vampire did to ya so long ago. Besides," Aster paused, "Frostbite's done nothing but help us. He hasn't hurt any of us, and he didn't hurt any of the children when we were out collecting teeth."

"So say's you. You're _smitten_ with the - the _vampire_. Of course you would say that!"

 _Damn._ Had he been that obvious?

"Maybe so, but you're acting mental right now. You'd do good to think about what I said."

Tooth's anger seemed to diminish. Sighing, she nodded. "Y-you're right… I suppose."

North walked back towards Tooth and said "Jack doesn't act like normal vampire." North tilted his head. "Could be due to his winter powers but," He shrugged, "who knows?"

"We'll have to ask him when he wakes up then, yeah?" Aster muttered.

"I'm awake." They all jumped a little. Jack walked over to them, his shoulders stiff and his steps tense. The yetis must have undressed him. He didn't have a shirt on, but rather his torso had bandages wrapped around it. His leather pants had been replaced with a large pair of human sweatpants. They were much too big on Jack, and so the pants hung low on Jack's hips.

Jack's face still had veins flowing across his skin, and his nails were still long, his teeth still sharp as they poked at his bottom lip. Aster couldn't help his sharp intake of breath when he finally looked into Jack's eyes.

They were blood red. They were so… bright. They seemed to glow from where he was standing in the shadows. Like a cat's. Aster couldn't stop looking at him. Even this way, he couldn't help the feeling of warmth that spread from his chest until it was all the way down in his toes and fingers.

"So you all know, then?" Jack questioned hesitantly. When no one answered he added, "I heard you talking." He snuck a glance at Aster.

North was the first to reply. "Yes we… we know. When you fell unconscious in the sky, Aster caught you in the sleigh."

"He noticed your… appearance." Tooth added.

"Yeah." Jack laughed bitterly. "Pretty horrible, right?"

"No." Aster blurted out before he could stop himself.

Jack simply stared at him. Everyone was silent. It was unnerving.

"Jack, are you… alright?"

Jack turned to look at North. He looked lost in thought for a moment. "Yes. No… I-I'm not really sure."

Sighing, he felt anger course through him. His eyes flashed a bright red, and he noticed how Tooth tensed. Looking at her, he sighed again in defeat.

"I just… wish I could've done something."

"Done something?" Aster looked at him wide-eyed. "You stood up to Pitch. Mate, you saved us."

"But Sandy wo-"

" _Would_ be proud of what you did." North walked over to him and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. If he was disturbed by Jack's appearance, he didn't let it show on his face. "I don't know who you were in past life, but in this life you are guardian."

Jack snorted. "I'm a lot of things, North. Jack Frost, vampire, Hos -" Jack stopped himself. They were just now learning about his being a vampire, he'd rather not throw his major role in the world on top of them just yet. "Never mind. It's just… how can I know who I am, until I find out who I was?"

North was silent for a moment. Then he smiled softly at Jack. "You will. I feel it, in my belly."

"Now, let us all take a moment to gather thoughts, and rest." North told everyone. "Let's go to recreational area, yes?"

North started to walk away with Tooth following behind him. She turned for just a moment to give Jack a tight smile. Jack was saddened at her lack of trust, but really, he couldn't blame her. Especially if one of his kind had once done something to her. He was suddenly really glad that he had killed almost every vampire.

"Hello, Frostbite." Aster walked beside Jack.

Jack looked up at Aster's face. "Hey, Aster."

"How… how much of our conversation did ya hear?"

Jack seemed to trip a little bit at the question, and Aster's paw quickly found its way to Jack's upper arm. He balanced again with Aster's help and looked down at the rabbit's paw.

"I heard enough." Was all Jack said. Aster slowly removed his hand. Jack's skin was so cold, but it felt so good against Bunny's paw pads. Aster noticed how Jack shivered when his paw moved.

"Did ya hear… anythin' of interest…?" Aster didn't know how to word his question.

Jack raised an eyebrow at Bunny.

"I-I mean… something that didn't really have to do with your… vampirism thing. Ya know? I mean -"

Aster was cut off with the press of cool lips pressed against his mouth. His eyes widened at the feeling. Jack's teeth were sharp against his lips, but Bunny responded eagerly.

He wrapped his arms around the winter sprite, holding him close. Aster felt Jack sigh against his lips. One of Jack's hand wound itself up in Aster's fur. The other ran its claws up and down Bunny's side.

Bunny growled into the kiss when Jack's tongue darted out. When Jack did it again, Aster met his tongue with his own. The boy tasted… like ice.

Jack was the first one to pull back. He looked up at Aster with hunger in his eyes.

"So, you _are_ smitten with me?" Jack smiled, and it was entirely smug. And happy.

Aster grinned back. "Yeah, Snowflake. Completely smitten with ya." Aster leaned down to continue kissing Jack, but the sprite pulled out of his grasp.

"We should catch up with the others. They might be wondering what we're doing…"

"Let them wonder."

"Aster." Jack's voice held something serious within it. "I… need to rest. And by rest I mean…"

When Aster's eyes only held confusion, Jack sighed in exasperation. "I need _blood_. That's why I still look like… this. This whole Pitch situation happened rather suddenly, you know? It had already been a while since I'd last drank, and I haven't had time since this started to get any."

Aster suddenly looked mischievous. "You can just drink from me, love."

Jack blushed at Aster's term of endearment, but shook his head violently. "I don't drink from live people. I never have and never will."

Aster looked at Jack with something close to surprise. "How do ya feed then?"

"I… have a supplier? I know a guy. I don't ask how he gets it." Jack paused and then added, "I _do_ know that he only takes from people who are asleep, and he only takes it in small increments."

"Hm… are you sure you don't wanna take a sip from me? I don't mind."

"I'm sure. Besides, I can't drink blood that isn't human. It makes me sick."

"Mate," Aster chuckled. "Humans and I share a lot of similarities. I just happen to take the shape of a big rabbit."

Jack laughed at that and started walking in the direction Tooth and North had gone in. "Yeah, you do. At least you're a cute rabbit."

Aster glared playfully at Jack. "You did _not_ just call me _cute_ …"

* * *

It turned out that North actually had human blood. Tooth had freaked out and had asked ' _Why the hell do you have that'_ while Aster had just looked surprised.

Apparently, North dabbled in a bit of magic. Human blood is a common component when completing rituals and the likes. That didn't surprise Jack, as he _had_ been friends with Moki.

Jack paused as he thought that. _Moki_. Jack missed him now more than ever, but that little ache that had stayed in Jack's un-beating heart since the satyr's death was finally starting to dissipate.

Jack took another sip out of the golden cup he was holding. This had been his fifth cup full. He had been really thirsty. Going without blood for a while was never a good thing. Tooth seemed to get more and more at ease once his appearance had gone back to normal.

Jack managed to catch a few glimpses at Aster every now and again. They were all seated next to a fire. Jack was the furthest away from it for obvious reasons. Warmth was good and all, but Jack and fire were not on the best of terms.

Aster was sitting on the couch next to Jack. Whenever either of them would shift in their seats, their arms would brush up against each other. It was totally intentional on both of their parts.

Tooth and North shared a look at each other when Bunny and Jack weren't looking. No one was really talking. They were all still grieving over Sandy.

Eventually, they were all shown rooms within the Pole's guest wing. North had retreated back to his own bedroom, and Aster tried not to laugh when he noticed Tooth following. Jack didn't notice.

Jack looked at the door that would lead to his room, and then he looked up at Aster. Bunny thought he almost seemed nervous. _Now why would Jackie be nervous – oh._

Aster felt his face heat up underneath his fur.

"Do you… want to come in?"

Jack looked up expectantly. Aster only nodded.

Jack walked through the door to reveal a simple room that was, of course, themed Christmas-y. The walls were red with gold trimming, and the bed was large and covered in pillows. The quilt was a dark green that had swirly red designs spanning over it.

Jack thought it was gaudy.

There was also a small desk in the corner of the room. It had a lamp on it.

Jack walked over and turned on said lamp before sitting down on the bed. He motioned for Aster to join him.

If Jack's heart could beat, it would be beating a mile a minute. Jack felt himself growing warm, and he was nervous. He didn't know what was about to transpire between the two of them. Jack wasn't entirely used to being touched, and they had only just figured out that they both held… feelings for one another. Jack didn't think he was ready for anything… major. Besides, he had never –

"Ya know, I was wonderin' about a few things."

Jack calmed his thoughts. "What about?"

"It's just… why didn't you tell us?"

Jack gave Aster a deadpan stare. "Really? I didn't talk to you guys for almost three hundred years, and you're asking why I didn't tell you? Not to mention I thought you didn't even like me…"

Aster looked surprised at that. "Why'd ya think that?"

"The Blizzard of '68."

"Oh."

They were silent for a moment.

Aster sighed. "I was mad, at first. But I got over it. Why'd ya do it, anyways?"

Jack tensed and looked at his hands. "I was… mourning."

"What? What do ya mean?"

"I had a friend… He helped me. A lot. We met almost a week after I first became a spirit, and we pretty much stayed together after that. His name was Moki. He was a Satyr." Jack smiled, but it was pained. "He was an alchemist of a sort. We were out getting some plant that he wanted."

Aster waited for Jack to continue. Jack shifted closer and leaned against Bunny's shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around his furry middle.

"We got attacked by wendigos. Three of them. They attacked me first. Knocked me down. I didn't get up in time. They had started to… _eat_ Moki. I went kind of crazy for a minute and killed all three wendigos, but… when I went over to Moki, he wasn't breathing."

Aster was rubbing soothing circles on Jack's back. Jack nuzzled his nose into his fur and sniffed. Bunny smelt so _good_.

"I buried him near where we had been attacked. Then every year, I went back to his grave. 1968… it was a bad year for me. I was… lonely. I never made any friends after he'd died, and that had been a century before the blizzard."

Aster felt like he knew where this was going, but stayed quiet.

"I kind of… lost it. The weather just happened to match my emotions. I didn't even notice until the blizzard was over. And I certainly didn't mean to hurt anyone…"

Aster sighed. "I'm sorry, Frostbite. I really am. I was unfair to ya then. It wasn't right of me."

"No, you had every right. It was your holiday that I ruined. So, _I'm_ sorry."

Aster simply nodded before looking confused. "That doesn't explain why you had been covered in your own blood. And your clothes… they had been all torn up."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. I got really angry at myself. I shifted into my vampire form, and my nails ended up going through my hand." Jack laughed a little at that. Aster didn't.

"I started hurting myself… I scratched myself and scraped my chest and legs raw with my claws." Jack looked down again.

Aster bent down a little and lifted Jack's face with a paw. Slowly, Bunny pressed his lips to Jack's.

Jack kissed back fervently. He pressed himself up against Aster and ran his fingers through his fur. Jack could feel the muscles move underneath.

Aster pulled back this time. "I'm sorry, Jackie. I had no idea."

Jack buried his face in Aster's chest. His fur was tickling his nose.

"Jack, get ya some sleep, okay? We've got a big day ahead of us."

"Why's that?" Jack asked. Aster stood up from Jack's bed.

"Easter is in two days. We need to keep belief up if we wanna have a chance to beat Pitch."

Jack nodded and smiled. Standing, he flew up a few inches and gave Bunny a chaste kiss on the top of his head.

"Goodnight, Aster."

"Sleep well, Jackie."

Aster left Jack's room.

* * *

The next day, they all stood in the globe room. Jack was back in his leather pants and black undershirt. He had already pulled his cowl up.

"Look!" North pointed at the globe. "They are going out so quickly!"

"It's fear. Without Sandy's dream sand, all of the kids are having nightmares." Jack declared. "He's tipped the balance."

Bunny jumped in front of everyone. "Hey, buck up you sad-sacks. Come on! We can still turn this around!" Bunny twirled one of his boomerangs. "Easter is _tomorrow_ , and I need your help. I say we pull out all the stops and we get those little lights flickering again!"

North sighed dramatically. "As much as it pains me to say, this time Easter is more important than Christmas, old friend."

Aster gasped. "Everyone heard that right?!"

Tooth and Jack snickered.

North motioned for everyone to follow him. "We must hurry to the Warren. Let's get to sleigh."

"Oh no, mate." Aster grinned. "My Warren, my rules."

Tapping his foot twice, a hole opened up beneath all of them. North was the only one to scream.

* * *

The Warren was _gorgeous_. There were so many colors. It was all so bright and warm and homey in Jack's opinion.

North finally came barreling out of the tunnels and crashed along his yetis.

"Very funny, Bunny." North glared but laughed at Aster.

Aster looked around and spread his arms wide. "Welcome to my Warren -"

Aster's posture shifted to alertness as he stood up straighter and sniffed. His ears were perked and shifting.

"Somethin's up."

He brandished his boomerangs and North flourished his swords. Jack held his staff at the ready.

He sniffed the air. _Wait, that smell is familiar –_ but he didn't get to warn the other's before they all started charging at a tunnel entrance. Then, they all halted as a small blonde child ran around the corner.

"Yeah guys. It's Sophie." Jack said simply. He flew over to where she was chasing some eggs before sitting down on a rock. She gasps and changes course to charge after an elf.

"Elf, elf, elf!" Sophie cried.

The others quickly put their weapons away.

"How did she get _in_ here?" Aster looked at North.

"Oh," the Russian man stated after patting his coat. "Seems she got hold of snow globe." He grinned sheepishly.

"Crikey! Somebody do something!" Aster looked towards Jack for help.

"Don't look at me, I'm invisible, remember?"

Tooth flutters closer to the little girl. "Don't worry, Bunny. I bet she's a fairy fan!"

Sophie paused and watched with a tiny grin when Tooth flew up to her. "It's okay little one!"

"Pretty!"

"Awww! You know what, I got something for you."

Tooth pulled out… teeth.

"Here it is!" She bent down to show Sophie the teeth, who only stared at them.

"Look at all the pretty teeth with blood and gum on them!"

Tooth was smiling like she was brilliant for showing Sophie that, but it was quickly wiped off her face when the little blonde girl ran away screaming.

Jack couldn't help it. He busted out laughing. "Seriously?" Jack sniffed. "Blood and gums? When was the last time you guys actually hung out with kids?"

North looked affronted. "We are very busy bringing joy to children! We don't have time…" North suddenly looked embarrassed. "…for children."

Sighing Jack stood up and flew over to the other guardians.

"If one little kid can ruin Easter, then…" Jack formed a single snowflake that he then blew on gently. It turned a sparkling blue. "…we're in worse shape than I thought."

Jack got Sophie's attention with the snowflake, and the other guardians watched as Jack made her chase it towards them.

"Weee! Weee!" Sophie laughed giddily.

Jack winked at Aster before hitting him in the nose with the snowflake. He watched Bunny's face as all of his worries seemed to slip away, and huge smile overtook his face.

Bunny walked over to Sophie. "You wanna paint some eggs, sheila?"

"Okay!"

"Come on then!" The two started walking away hand in hand. The other guardians looked on in surprise.

"How did you do that?" Tooth asked.

Jack wiggled his fingers. "Magic."

The time seemed to fly by from then.

Flowers were blooming everywhere, eggs were hatching, eggs were being painted, the color river was full of eggs… eggs were everywhere.

Bunny behaved beautifully with Sophie. He kept her safe from any dangers within the Warren, while simultaneously guiding his army of little eggs around to get them all painted. Jack was impressed by it all.

Once all of the eggs were painted, they all gathered in the center of the Warren, waiting to be sent out to their respective continents. Bunny was watching the eggs from a hill, and he held a sleeping Sophie in his arms. Jack flew over to join him.

"Not bad."

Aster smiled at Jack. "Not bad yourself."

They sat in silence for a moment, then Aster said quietly, "I'm glad you're here, Jack."

Jack looked startled for a moment before nodding with a smile. "Of course I'm here."

"But ya didn't have to be. So…" Aster looked back out over the Warren. "Thanks."

"Aster, the only reason I've stuck around is because of you." Jack started to smile slowly. "And my memories. But, you know, mainly you."

Aster chuckled quietly so as to not disturb Sophie.

They were joined by North and Tooth a moment later. Tooth gazed down at her wonderingly.

"I love her!" She gushed. "But, I think it's time to get her home."

"How about I take her?" Jack offered.

Tooth's face was abruptly overtaken with fear. "No!" Tooth practically snatched Sophie out of Jack's reach.

Aster and North looked on worriedly.

"Why, exactly, do you not want me to?" Jack asked, even though he pretty much already knew the answer.

"Because you're…"

Jack huffed a pained laugh. "A vampire, yeah?" He practically hissed. Jack did not want her fear, and he did not want her to think that he was bloodthirsty like his now dead brethren.

"I am not like the rest of the vampires, Tooth. Whether you want to believe that or not is up to you."

Jack stood up and walked over to Tooth. He gently picked up Sophie and held her in his arms. His eyes never left Tooth's.

"Besides," Jack whispered while looking down at the sleeping child, "I've killed them all."

It was utterly silent. The only noises were those of Sophie's light breathing and the distant patter of little egg feet.

"Or, well, almost all." Jack shrugged and looked up at the guardians with a bitter look in his eyes. "There always seems to be more popping up somewhere, somehow. But they don't live very long. I always hunt them down once I know about them." Jack couldn't help but feel anger at his kind. Jack barely felt his eyes flash red, though the others saw them change color if only for a moment.

Tooth looked up at him in bewilderment. "I-I don't understand. Why?"

"Because they were all monsters." Jack glared at her. "I am too, but I can at least control my urges. They act on their bloodlust. I'm _stronger_ than they are."

Aster put his paw on Jack's shoulder. "You're not a monster, mate."

"I know what I am, Aster."

Jack turned to look at all of the guardians, his eyes held a guarded look. "Now, do you mind if I take her home?"

Tooth looked away guiltily.

"Of course you can take her home, Jack." North stated. "Just hurry, yes? We need to be ready for Pitch, and for that, we need you."

"Jack…" Tooth said, "At least take one of my fairies with you? Please?"

Jack smiled and nodded.

"See you guys in a little while then." He flew off with the random fairy and chose to ignore when he heard Aster whisper to Tooth ' _what the bloody hell.'_

* * *

Jack had been gone for a while. The other guardians didn't know where he had gone other than to take Sophie home. He should have been back by now! But no, he wasn't.

Besides, it was too late for him to help.

The nightmares had come out of nowhere. Aster didn't even know _how_ they got in. They had smashed _everything_. He and the other guardians killed as many as possible, but the nightmares still managed to destroy every single egg.

There was nothing left. There was no Easter.

The guardians had left the warren and went to watch an egg hunt. There were kids walking around, searching for eggs, but there were none to be found.

Aster was in pain. He could practically feel every hope, every belief in him, in _all_ of them, disappear.

The children seemed heartbroken, and torn down.

Aster felt the same way.

"I can't believe he didn't come."

Aster watched in horror as the children started walking away dejectedly.

"No! Wrong! N-Not true. I'm right in front of ya, mate!" Aster was desperate.

The children didn't look at him. They didn't seem to hear him. They were only talking to each other.

"There's no such thing as the Easter Bunny."

"I know…"

"No, I'm here! Right bloody here!" Aster hopped out in front of a child who was shuffling to his parents gloomily.

Then, the child passed right through him.

Aster didn't think he had ever felt such an excruciating pain.

* * *

 _No. No. No. Please, no. Not to him._ Jack watched with widened eyes as a child walked right through Bunny. Jack hadn't meant for this to happen. He didn't think he had even been gone so long.

Time in Pitch's hideaway seemed to disappear completely. Hours had passed, whereas to Jack, it had felt like mere minutes.

He had lost Baby Tooth (it's what he had taken to calling here when she had accompanied him to take Sophie home. It seems the little fairy had grown on him) and he had, instead, returned to the tunnels of the Warren with his tooth box, and thousands of crushed eggs.

It didn't take long for Jack to piece everything together.

Pitch had distracted him, with his memories, to make sure that everything he and the guardians had worked for was destroyed.

Jack felt like such a fool. He really was a monster, vampire or not.

He watched with growing horror as Bunny crouched in on himself. Jack could barely make out what he was saying.

"They don't see me. They don't see me…" Bunny was repeating it like a mantra.

It broke Jack's motionless heart.

"Jack." North bounded up to him, out of breath. "Where were you?"

Jack stays silent, mouth agape under his facemask. He couldn't take his eyes off of Bunny. Tooth had flown over to comfort him. Jack couldn't even get himself to move. Not even an inch.

He barely noticed when Tooth had flown over to see him as well with North.

"Jack!" She fluttered quickly over to him, but abruptly stopped when she noticed the golden tooth box in his pale hand. "Where did you get that?"

Jack, finally able to move, looked down at the little golden box. "I was… it's…"

"Where is my fairy?" Jack said nothing, but looked into her eyes, desperately thinking of something to say. "Oh, Jack. What have y-you done?"

Tooth's eyes glazed over and if his heart seemed to only become even more shrouded in pain.

" _That_ is why you weren't here?" North took a step towards Jack threateningly. "You were with _Pitch_?"

"No wait." Jack took a wobbly step back. His voice was shaky, and he was sure he eyes were turning red and veins were popping out with anger at himself. Not that he could feel it right now. He felt completely numb.

"Wait, listen. Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I was flying out of the Bennet's house and then -"

"He has to go."

Jack froze, and his eyes clenched shut as he slowly realized who had spoken those words.

Turning, Jack gazed upon Bunny with pain on his face. Bunny didn't seem to see it.

"We should never have trusted you! I…" Bunny paused and took a deep, shuttering breath. "I should never have trusted you."

If Jack's heart had been beating, it would have just stopped.

"Aster, no, listen -"

"No. You listen." Bunny was looking at him with rage and hurt. And betrayal. They were _all_ looking at him with betrayal. "Easter is new beginnings, new life. Easter is about… hope."

Bunny turned away from him and clenched both of his paws. "And now it's gone."

Aster walked away from him, he didn't turn back to look once.

Jack looked at Tooth and North, who were both staring anywhere but him.

Jack's three hundred year old hope for an actual family of some sort that he barely even realized was still alive, died at that exact moment. Jack knew now that no matter what, these people would never see him the same way, and that any form of budding friendship between North and he, or the comradeship that he and Tooth had been building, or even the budding relationship that had only just begun between he and Aster… Jack knew that it was all gone, like it had never even existed.

He had never meant for this to happen, but it had. And there was nothing for him to do about it now. He couldn't stay here… not now that Aster hated him. Not now that they could no longer trust him.

Not now that he was alone. Again. And that he was never likely to gain anything close to what he almost had, but had ruined.

No… he had to leave.

And so he did. Jack flew off without a single word, but rather with a slight whistling wind that seemed to linger long after Jack had left.

* * *

Antarctica. It was so cold, dry, windy, and just what Jack needed to feel against his skin right now. Jack was naturally cold, obviously, but sometimes even he could feel the harshest cold and wind. And he needed to… to feel something other than numbness.

Jack was glaring down at the box of teeth that he had in his hand. He had tried to throw it, but he could never make his fingers let go. He _needed_ his memories. He _needed_ to know about his past. He didn't know why, exactly, he just knew he needed to.

Jack's thoughts were going a mile a minute.

 _You should have been there._

 _Why weren't you there?_

 _They_ needed _you._

 _You can't do anything right._

 _You broke Aster's heart._

 _You are worthless._

 _Trash._

 _A monster._

Jack was defeated. Not too long ago, he had been so powerful. He commands a winter army, for crying out loud. _He was Winter_. And yet he was able to be brought so low by feelings that he had tried for so long to keep down and out of the way.

It was sad. It even sickened him a little.

But Jack couldn't help but laugh. He could imagine what Moki would be saying right now.

" _Way to go, Jack. You messed up. Bad. But you're strong, stronger than me at any rate. You'll make it through this. You'll always make it through."_

Then Jack would deny that he was stronger than Moki, because to Jack it was true. As for the 'you'll always make it through' bit? Jack stopped laughing to glare at a random cliff of ice a couple of miles off.

Yeah, he always seemed to make it through. Not that Jack was always happy about that. He stayed where he was and his friends (what few he'd had) always left. He was the one that got left behind. And if that thought made him feel cynically bitter? That was his problem.

Jack let out a loud growl, feeling his face change yet again. He felt his fingernails lengthen along with his teeth.

Jack gripped the little golden box so tightly he was certain he left a dent in it. The same could be said for his staff.

Jack though back for only a moment on what he had seen with Aster. He had felt his chest tighten up, his throat close off, and his arms go limp. His legs almost gave out as well.

When Aster had been walked through, and he had seen the pure agony, the utter _anguish_ that had caused Bunny's face to tighten… Jack knew exactly what it felt like. And honestly? The satisfaction that _yes, finally, someone else felt what he's felt for three hundred years_ passed through his mind had made Jack want to throw up.

 _I really am a monster…_

Jack breathed heavily, if only to release some of the tension within his chest. He barely heard the footsteps behind him.

"I thought this might happen."

Jack shoved the memory box into a pocket in his pants before arming himself with his staff. Jack's face was utter calm. He would not show any weakness to Pitch. Not now. Not after what the Boogeyman had done.

"What do you want, Pitch?"

"What do I want? Well, I want many things…" Pitch shrugged before seemingly floating across the ice underneath him. "But for now I wanted to ask how you're doing after the whole debacle with the Guardians?"

"Like you honestly care." Jack said dully.

"Oh, but I do, Jack…" Pitch seemed to faze in and out with the shadows that now surrounded Jack, but he always felt those golden eyes on him. "You know, they never really believed in you. You were never one of them. I was just trying to show you that. But I understand…"

Jack thought back to Pitch's underground lair.

" _After all, you're not one of them."_

" _You don't know what I am!"_

" _Of course I do. You're Jack Frost, the vampire, the monster. You make a mess wherever you go…"_

Jack shook his head at Pitch. "You don't understand anything."

"No? I don't know what it's like to be cast out? To not be believed in?" Pitch had started to throw his black sand at Jack, and Jack froze it whenever it got to close. "To long for a family!"

Pitch finally stopped attacking Jack, and instead stood in front of him, breathing heavily.

"All those years in the shadows I thought, no one else knows what this feels like. But now I see I was wrong."

Jack locked eyes with Pitch.

"We don't have to be alone, Jack."

Was Pitch… propositioning him?

"I believe in you. And I know children will too."

Jack straightened up before slowly lowering his staff. "They'll believe in you. Because they'll be afraid."

"Yes but they'll be afraid of you too! Look!" Pitch gestured to the huge, spiked ice formation behind Jack.

Jack glanced behind his shoulder to look at it. It was beautiful in its own dark and disturbing way.

"What goes better together than cold and dark?"

Jack looked back at Pitch, thinking on his offer. It was tempting… to finally be believed in. But Jack knew that despite the fact that he no longer had any friends to speak of, and that no one cared about him any longer, that he would never want the children to be afraid of him.

But… Pitch's offer left an opportunity. It left a vulnerability… an opening.

It was an opening that Jack was going to take.

"Pitch…" Jack gazed at him, and then stood up entirely straight before lowering his staff. "You've got a deal. If you can help get the children to believe in me, even if it is through fear, I'll help you take out the Guardians, once and for all."

Pitch slowly let a grin take over his grey face. "Wonderful."


	10. Chapter 9

Pitch was still grinning at Jack he slowly pulled Baby Tooth from his coat. Jack could hear her terrified little chirps, but forced himself to remain completely calm and to _not_ rush at Pitch and rip his throat out with his teeth.

"So you have her, then?" Jack asked.

"Yes. I was going to use her as leverage, should you turn down my offer, but now I see I don't have to." Pitch continued to grin.

Jack was admittedly getting uneasy with Pitch's bright yellow eyes scrutinizing him, but Jack remained calm under his gaze.

"Just to test this new partnership, why don't you hold on to her, yes? When the time comes, I want you to snap the little annoyance's _neck_ right in front of her equally annoying mother."

Pitch's unwavering smile made sense now, and Jack fought back a growl at what the Boogeyman said.

"Sounds easy enough." Jack walked over to Pitch calmly, and took Baby Tooth out of his hands. He felt the tiny fairy squirming in his grip, and her chirps were louder than ever. He tried not to let his hold be too tight so as to not squish the fairy.

"This is all very grand, but we do need to be on our way. I want to watch as the last of the lights goes out. It should all be very splendid. Especially now that we can experience it together."

Did Pitch sound… flirty? Jack shuddered internally when he noticed the grey man's eyes rake his body up and down. It made him feel filthy, but Jack simply lifted an eyebrow at him in response.

"So, that's the kind of partnership this is going to be?"

Pitch started grinning at him again and _gods_ Jack wished he would stop because he has the worst smile. "If that is what you desire…"

Jack only nodded in his direction. "We'll see. We should get going?"

Pitch laughed darkly before he started using his nightmare sand to fly next to Jack as the made their way out of Antarctica.

Pitch had decided to go to North's workshop, and luckily, none of the Guardians were around to watch as Pitch gleefully stepped all over the globe. Jack would have had a hard time explaining why he was doing what he was doing, and honestly, he probably wouldn't have been able to.

All Jack knew, was that he had a plan. Maybe a shitty one, but at least he had one. He just had to wait for a good time to put it into motion.

And that moment was now, apparently. As Pitch made comments towards the yetis and the elves, he had momentarily forgotten about Jack's presence.

So he made his move.

"Baby Tooth." Jack looked down at the fairy in his hand. She glanced up at him with a terror filled gaze. "Listen, I'm not going to hurt you, and I haven't turned against the Guardians."

She looked at him doubtfully, but made a singular chirping noise to tell him to continue.

"I have a plan."

As he told her about said plan, her eyes grew wide with all of the information he was pouring over her. But they also grew wide with understanding and hope.

"Alright. Do you understand everything? Do I need to run it over again real quick?" Jack asked her.

But she shook her tiny head vigorously.

"Good, now get going. And hurry, please."

Jack released her into the air, and she flew off as quickly as she could. She moved lethargically, but considering there was only one believer left in the entire world, Jack couldn't blame her.

Jack turned to watch as Pitch snapped his fingers, waiting for the last light to go out. It didn't.

Jack could see where the last light was.

"Jamie…" Jack whispered in awe.

Pitch turned towards him. "So you know who it is?" Pitch let out a deep chuckle. "Let's go and finish this, now."

Jack nodded and flew off with Pitch. He hoped that his plan would work.

* * *

Jack didn't know _how_ he had done it, but he had somehow convinced Pitch to wait to make Jamie stop believing. He had said that it would be more gratifying for him if he waited until the guardians were here, so that he could watch them fade away.

 _Pitch's vanity knows no bounds, apparently._

Jack laughed a little at himself, but remained impassive on the outside. It had been over two hours since he had sent off Baby Tooth, and Pitch had yet to notice her absence. Jack was grateful for that small fact. His plan pretty much hinged on Pitch's obliviousness to his surroundings.

Speaking of Pitch, the man had gone off to call forth as much of his black sand as possible so that he would make a formidable foe even though the Guardians were all extremely weak. Jack sighed at this. It would have been nice to have some help from them, but if what Pitch said was true, then they would all be pretty much moments away from falling apart.

Jack felt bad as it was his fault that they were like that, but he was trying to make up for his mistakes, even though he knew he would never be forgiven for them.

Jack closed his eyes for only a moment before he heard it. Chirping.

 _Baby Tooth!_

Jack looked up in the direction of the chirping to see her fluttering weakly towards him. Once she was within arm's reach she fell limply into his hands.

"Baby Tooth! Are you alright?"

She nodded at him weakly.

"Did you talk to them? Are they ready to come at my signal?"

She nodded again.

"Thanks, Baby Tooth."

She grinned at him before yawning. Gazing at her tiny body in his hands he slowly covered her with his palm.

"Do you want to rest?"

She gazed up at him, looking even more tired than before, and nodded once more.

"Here. You can stay here. It should be secure enough. And warm enough."

Jack lifted her from his palm and placed her where his tooth box was resting. She crawled in with it and chirped a few times before her movements stilled.

Jack waited to make sure she was completely asleep.

 _Well, that was adorable._

Jack smiled softly before making his face have no emotion again. Pitch could show back up at any time, and he needed to be constantly prepared.

Jack decided that while he waited, he might as well feel where his backup was waiting. He shut his eyes and opened his mind before he began to feel them a couple of miles out. He smiled internally. He thanked Moki before flying away from Jamie's bedroom window.

Gliding to where Pitch was in the sky, he was able to see where the Guardians suddenly appeared out of nowhere in North's sleigh. Jack and Pitch watched as it crashed a street away from Jamie's house. Jack was glad for that little bit of distance.

"Are you ready, Jack? Our lives are about to change for the better in every aspect of the word." Pitch looked down at him with a glint in his eye. The man then reached up to stroke Jack's cheek, but Jack forced himself to not shudder and move away. He needed Pitch to believe he was with him wholly.

"I can't wait." Jack heard himself say. It didn't feel natural, or right at all, but he pushed his feelings away for now.

They traveled together to where the sleigh had landed. They both watched as North hobbled out of the driver's seat, and how Tooth could barely stand up, let alone fly. Jack became worried when Bunny didn't appear from the sleigh as well.

"Well, well, well. It seems you've finally arrived, hm?"

North and Tooth looked up instantly, startled by Pitch's voice.

"Pitch, we will stop you-"

North's voice paused as he looked at Jack floating silently behind the Boogeyman.

"Jack?" North sounded hesitant and distant. Like he wasn't all there at the moment.

Jack chose not to say anything. Pitch laughed loudly and started talking.

"You've made some mistakes in your lives, but how could you make the mistake of ever letting Jack go?" Pitch grinned at them and made some of his sand slither around their feet.

"I d-don't understand. J-Jack why w-would you g-go to h-him?" Tooth was shivering, and so many of her feathers were missing that Jack could see the pink flesh underneath.

"I had to, Tooth. I had no choice."

Tooth looked like she was about to cry, and North looked like he could barely believe his eyes.

Jack couldn't help but ask. "Where's Bunny?"

North looked down at his feet, but almost fell over doing so. He leaned on one of his swords before saying, "Losing Easter took its toll on all of us. But Bunny… he was affected most of all."

Jack watched in fascination and horror as a tiny grey ball of fluff started hopping out of the sleigh.

"That's Bunny?" Jack questioned in disbelief. He couldn't help but start to laugh.

"Stop laughing, Jack. This is no time for that." Pitch growled.

"Yeah, yeah. Fine." was all Jack replied with before going silent.

"Oi! You blubberin' arsehole! You think you can take us on? I might be small but -"

Aster stopped talking, and his huge, bunny eyes turned towards Jack. He seemed to notice him for the first time.

Aster's eyes widened in disbelief and pain. "…Jackie?"

Jack had to look away.

"I do think I can take you on. I could take you on with my eyes closed in your current states. Besides," Pitch strode to where Jack was and possessively ran a finger down from his temple down his neck before resting his palm on his chest. "I've got 'Jackie' now."

Pitch grinned at the Guardian's horrified looks. "It's time to take care of the boy, but first, do what I asked about the fairy."

Pitch was frowning at him, and Jack looked at each of the guardians faces as he slowly pulled out a sleeping fairy from his pocket.

Tooth looked both relieved and horrified, North looked confused, and Aster looked angry beyond belief.

Jack slowly bent his head towards the tiny fairy. "Baby Tooth. Wake up."

She slowly opened her eyes before sitting up in his palm. She chirped at him a few times before rubbing at her eyes.

Jack felt Pitch tensing up in anticipation next to him.

"Jack no! Whatever you're about to do, please don't hurt my fairy!"

"Crikey, Jack, let the bloody fairy go."

"Jack, son, please think through what you're about to do, yes?"

Jack ignored all of them before setting Baby Tooth down on his shoulder. He reached up to pull down his face mask before turning to Pitch. He let his face slowly change appearance.

"Are you ready, Pitch?" Jack asked slowly as he deliberately made his voice go down a couple of octaves.

Pitch said nothing but looked at him in confusion and suspicion.

"Because I've had about enough of this farce." Jack looked them all in the eyes before shooting a bright ice shard straight into the night sky. It went up and up before exploding into a bunch of sparkling ice crystals.

Then there was silence.

"What was that?" Pitch snarled at him. "You were supposed to -"

Then they heard it. It was the sound of glass shattering over and over again. It was the sound of ice and snow snapping and crunching underfoot. It was the sound of wolves howling, and winds blaring in one's ears. It was winter.

Jack straightened up to his full height, and watched as Pitch's and the Guardian's eyes tripled in size.

"Holy Dooley…"

Jack tried not to grin at Aster and his mannerisms, but failed miserably. Jack looked away smirking as he saw his army approaching. He didn't notice the looks of shock that the Guardians were giving him.

Jack turned to Pitch with his grin still plastered on his face.

"Pitch, you are no longer going to be able to torment the children of the world for as long as I live." Pitch looked _afraid_ of Jack for a moment before trying to dash away. Jack shot a blast of ice at the man's feet, causing him to trip and become frozen to the ground.

"You will become my prisoner, and you will remain in my hands until my time as Host of Winter has come to an end." Jack spoke these words with fangs out and claws bared. "And after my time has passed, I shall make sure that my successor will keep you away from the children as diligently as I will."

"Host?" Pitch shrieked. "Of Winter? _How_? How could you, an insolent brat, be Host?" Pitch gaped as Jack's fangs lengthened in reply.

"You, boy, think that you have more power than you actually have." Pitch snarled. Jack growled when Pitch sank into the shadows beneath him, the ice crackled and caved in where his body had been.

Jack hissed in response when he felt something sharp slice at his neck, but Jack managed to jump away. He shot icicles at Pitch's receding back, making sure he was heading away. Pitch must have sliced his neck. He had been cut deep, but not deep enough to incapacitate. He felt his black blood begin to seep out of the wound, but he ignored it. He could worry about it later.

One of the Boreas came up to him as they watched Pitch go to his nightmares and gather them in the distance.

"My Host, what would you have us do?"

Jack glanced at the Boreas and the rest of his army. The group of ice sprites, ice ladies, Boreas, Yuki-onna, ice wraiths, and even his most loyal Amarok, all awaited his command.

"You and the other Boreas take to the sky and cause enough wind to inhibit the nightmare's flight abilities." They nodded and flew off. Jack already felt the wind pick up in speed and force. Jack picked up Baby Tooth off his shoulder and allowed her to crawl back in his pocket. She would be safer there.

"Yuki-onna-sama's?"

The old and wrinkled and slightly decaying women shuffled up to him. One answered him. "Yes, master?"

Jack grinned at them. "Eat as many nightmares as you can. Take your fill."

They grinned right back at him.

"Filtiarn, you're with me." The large wolf that was almost as tall as Bunny when he was at his normal size padded over to him gracefully before nudging him in the chest. Jack stroked the beast's fur before turning to his remaining forces. Pitch and the nightmares were now heading towards them.

"Pitch's nightmares are almost upon us. The rest of you, take care of yourselves, yeah? But under no circumstances do you let Pitch or his nightmares follow me and the rest of the Guardians. Understood?"

The winter spirits all nodded and some even yelled in agreement.

Jack nodded darkly to all of them. "I know that as Winter spirits, some of you crave causing pain and suffering unto others, and that since my reign I haven't allowed such actions. But I'm giving you permission now. Destroy every last nightmare. Cause Pitch pain. As much as you want. But do not let him get away. We will take him prisoner."

Jack looked in the distance. Pitch was less than a mile away with his huge cloud of nightmares.

Turning back to his army of several hundred winter spirits, he smiled gleefully. "Have fun."

His forces started charging against Pitch's own, and Jack could already see nightmare after nightmare being torn down by wind, ice, teeth and claws.

"Now," Jack declared to the Guardians who were all staring at him in different levels of disbelief, "I'll explain everything later, I promise."

Jack paused. "That is if you want me to stay around long enough to do so. Until then," Jack huffed a laugh. His mood had shifted from gleeful to downright murderous. He had made it so cold outside that _his_ breath clouded in front of him. "We need to go speak to the last light."

Jack had ultimately decided to pick up Bunny. He was so small, he was scared that he would get left behind or stepped on by his Amarok.

Filtiarn was almost completely silent as he ran with the guardians on his back. He was carrying North and Tooth. That was hardly anything for the large wolf though. Jack was flying down the street next to his wolf, and turned the corner with Bunny in his arms. It was strangely silent between the Guardians. He had expected questions from them, but they all remained relatively quiet save for the occasional groan of pain from North's aching bones.

When the approached Jamie's bedroom, Jack flew with Bunny in his arms to open it up. The wolf allowed for Tooth and North to sit on his large head to peak into the boy's bedroom. They all watched as Jamie spoke to a small stuffed bunny.

"Okay look, you and I are obviously at what they call a crossroads, so here's what's going to happen."

Jack sat Bunny down gently inside Jamie's room before floating in himself. Jack also changed his appearance back to normal. Jamie didn't notice any of their presences.

"If it wasn't a dream and if you are real, then you have to prove it. Like right now."

Jack watched as Jamie scrutinized the bunny, waiting for it to do _something_.

But nothing happened.

Jamie started sounding desperate. "I believed in you for a long time, okay? Like my whole life in fact. So you kinda owe me now." Jamie shifted a little on his knees. "You don't have to do much, just a little sign so I know. Anything."

Jack spared a glance down at Bunny and saw the pained and haunted look on his face. Jack couldn't take that expression being there anymore.

"I knew it…" Jack turned back to Jamie and stared as the bunny fell to the ground before he thought of an idea.

Jack turned to the window a made it frost over. Jack noticed how Jamie heard it and stared in awe. Using his finger he drew an egg with designs on it. Then, above that, he drew a bunny. Jack stared down at his own hands before trying something.

He focused his magic on that one figure on the window, and pulled. The strong magic that connected him with the frost on the window responded, and a frost bunny pulled out and started hopping around the room. Jamie laughed and giggled in amazement.

Jack laughed as well. He hadn't known he could do that…

"Jack Frost?"

He froze. "Did he just say -?"

"Jack Frost."

Jack looked at Jamie in doubt. "He said it again. He said…" Disbelief started to creep into his voice. "You said…"

"Jack Frost." Jamie's eyes locked onto his face and widened.

"That's right!" Jack shouted amazed. "That's me! I-I'm Jack Frost! That's my name!" Jack walked a few steps towards Jamie. "You said my name!"

Then Jack realized.

"You can hear me?"

Jamie nodded slowly.

"Y-you can see me?"

Jamie nodded faster.

Jack completely forgot about the battle outside and the other guardians because a _child could see him_ and if he was being completely honest with himself he had been dreaming of this since he had first been walked through and he _couldn't believe it-_

Jack was suddenly so overwhelmed with joy that he yelped and did a backflip.

Jamie was still staring at him.

"You just made it snow."

"I know!"

"In my _room._ "

"I know!"

"You're real?"

"Yeah!" Jack exclaimed. "Who do you think brings you all the blizzards and snow days, and you remember went you flying on that sled the other day?"

"That was you?" Jamie gasped.

"That was me!"

"Cool!"

"Right?!"

Jamie suddenly looked hesitant. "But what about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy I mean -"

"Real, real, real! All real! Every one of us, real!"

"I knew it!"

"Jamie?" They both froze. "Who are you talking to?"

It was his mom. Jack nodded in the direction of the door with a smile.

"Jack Frost?" Jamie yelled somewhat uncertainly.

His mom chuckled. "Okay then."

"Listen, Jamie." Jack said, quickly serious. "The others are in trouble, they're actually right there." Jack pointed in the direction of the window. Apparently Jamie could now see them standing behind the window.

"But that's only the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus? Where's the Easter Bunny and the Sandman?"

Jack flinched. "The Sandman… can't be here right now, but the Easter Bunny is-"

"Right down here."

Jamie jumped a little at the unexpected voice. He looked down at the floor to see Bunny, sitting cutely and breathing quickly.

"What? That's the Easter Bunny? What happened to him? He used to be so cool!"

"Wha- I swear this is right peachy… Oi! Kid! We've got some really big trouble goin' on outside. Any chance you can get your friends to come along an' help with somethin'?"

Jack looked at Aster exasperated.

"What do you mean? What's happening?"

Jack stepped in. "Jamie, these nightmares that everyone's been having… they're being caused by a bad man. The Boogeyman."

Jamie's eyes widened but Jack continued before he could get to scared. "We have some allies outside fighting him right now. He's got no chance at all if you can help get some more believers. You're the last one right now."

Jack pointed at Bunny. "That's why he's so small. There are no believers left other than you. We need you to get your friends to believe again. Do you think you can help?"

Jamie still seemed hesitant before admitting to Jack, "I'm…I'm scared."

Something seemed to resonate in Jack at that moment. He didn't know why but…

No he would come back to it later.

"Don't worry, Jamie. I'll protect you."

So Jack scooped Bunny up again and grabbed Jamie by the collar of his shirt and flew him to the windows off his friends. He eventually got them all outside and they all started to see Jack and the other guardians. Tooth could fly again, and North was regaining his vitality. Bunny was still small, but Jack had a feeling he would be back to normal soon.

Jamie and his friends turned the last corner of the street before they saw it. It wasn't a bloody battle, per se, but there was definitely black sand and ice shards _everywhere_. If it had been humans fighting there would be plenty of blood.

Thankfully, Jack saw that his army hadn't taken significant losses, and that the nightmares seemed to be on the losing end of this fight.

Jack told the kids to wait there and that if any nightmares got close to them that they had to realize they were just that. Nightmares. They couldn't physically harm them. That thought seemed to make the kids seem more prepared and stronger.

"Pitch is a complete schmuck." Aster mumbled under Jack's chin. The tiny rabbit was warm and fuzzy and Jack didn't want to let go but he had to find Pitch and apprehend him.

"Aster, I need to put you down. Feel like you're going to get any bigger soon?"

Bunny looked down at his fluffy chest. "Yah, mate. I can feel the hope rising as all of the nightmares are being defeated. And the kids really helped." Aster stared at Jack with something indiscernible in his eyes. "Go, Jack. Go get Pitch."

Jack nodded and set him on top of a car. He would be safer up there than on the ground at least. Turning to the Amarok, Jack commanded he stay and guard Bunny until he got bigger, the he could join the fray.

Jack flew away and joined the battle after one more glance at Bunny.

The battle seemed to fly by. North was swinging his swords around and Tooth was throwing punches left and right. Eventually, Jack noticed boomerangs flying around and taking down ten nightmares a piece.

Jack grinned as he found Pitch. The Nightmare King was swinging a huge black scythe around. Jack managed to surprise him by freezing his leg entirely solid. Pitch let out a pained yelp as he noticed that Jack was back and fighting him. Jack dodged easily whenever Pitch swung the scythe towards him. Jack barely had to do anything. Jack managed to get close enough to shove the blade on his staff through Pitch's arm, forcing his scythe to disintegrate.

Before Jack could do anything else to Pitch, he heard a scream of terror.

 _Shit, the kids._ Jack froze Pitch's hands together before smacking him over the head with the crook of his staff. He commanded the surrounding ice sprites to watch him. Then, Jack leaped over the other spirits and flew to the children. Jack watched as a single nightmare reared up in front of Jamie, but the young boy had his hand outstretched.

The nightmare brought its front hooves down on Jamie's hand, and then…

Everything was golden.

The black sand of the nightmare immediately turned to the all too familiar gold sand of the Sandman, and Jack just about whooped with joy. Jamie looked on the golden sand with wonder, and the other kids decided to join the fray. They touched every nightmare they could. Jack didn't want them to accidentally get hurt by one of his ice spirits, so he shot up another ice shard that exploded a bright blue before falling down gently.

His forces started to retreat. The kids ran in to where his forces had been. The nightmares were no match for their tiny, hope-filled fingers.

After only a few seconds there was golden sand floating everywhere, and slowly, it started to gather in the center of the street.

The guardians watched with joy as their friend become whole once more. Sandy stalked over to where Pitch lay, still surrounded by the ice spirits Jack had told to stay there. Sandy bent down in front of his face and shook a finger at him.

Then Sandy decked him hard, right across the face. Jack heard the Guardians all laugh.

Pitch lay unconscious on the street, hands bound by ice, and the kids started cheering and laughing and high-fiving. The guardians all ran to Sandy who looked happy to be back.

Jack didn't join either group. He wasn't a kid, and he wasn't a guardian. He didn't belong to either of their groups. Jack sighed and felt a nudge on his shoulder. He looked up to see Filtiarn looking down at him knowingly.

"Oh, I know. I just… I don't know what's going to happen now."

Filtiarn just gazed at Jack with his wide, silver eyes. The Amarok's black fur moved with the wind that was still being created by the Boreas. It wasn't nearly as strong as it had been.

"Aeolus!"

One of the Boreas stopped flying through the sky, and traveled down towards Jack and the Amarok.

"Yes, Host?"

"Gather the others and return them to the fortress. I shall return soon to check on everyone and provide. Just give me a little time."

The Boreas, Aeolus, nodded before taking to the sky again.

"Filtiarn, you too. Return home. You should go and help those in need." The Amarok regarded Jack for a moment before speaking, his voice rumbly and deep as though it was hardly used.

"You are a most gracious Host, Jack Frost. It has been an honor to help you succeed in your battles on this night." The Amarok dipped his head before bouncing off around the corner of the street.

Jack barely noticed as less and less winter spirits remained in the area, until the last one was Jack himself.

Jack's mouth went dry. How was he going to explain all of this to the others…?

"Jackie!"

 _Well, I guess now's the time._

Jack watched as Aster hopped over to where he stood, the other Guardians followed after him.

"Jack, we have much to speak on, yes?" North bellowed, but he looked downright jolly.

"Jack, listen, we -"

"Tooth, not now, yeah? Let 'em take a moment to rest. 'Sides, we need to get the kids home."

Tooth nodded slightly before giving Jack and Aster a look. She flew away a few feet before darting back to him.

"Jack! Where's Baby Tooth? Is she okay?"

Jack paused before smiling. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the still sleeping fairy.

"Yes, she's okay. She slept through the whole thing, apparently."

Tooth looked down at the sleeping fairy fondly. Jack handed her over to Tooth who woke her up and started to talk to her.

Jack worked with the guardians to get the kids back home.

The last child to get home was Jamie, who was worried that he would never see Jack and the others again. Jack gave him assurances and promised to be back whenever it was winter in Burgess. That made Jamie happy and, finally, he let Jack go.

Jack waved at Jamie from the window before floating over to where the guardians stood a little ways away from Pitch, who was still laying on the ground.

Jack used his ice to pick up Pitch's body. The other guardians looked at him questionably.

"Tooth, I know where he's has all of the fairies and teeth. If you guys want to follow me, we can get them back now."

Tooth looked at him giddily, which both made him happy and confused. Weren't they still mad at him for Easter? Jack wasn't sure anymore…

None of them seemed to be overly… _pissed_ at Jack for the moment, but he still felt like he was treading on thin ice.

He led them to the hole where Pitch's lair was located. Tooth and Sandy went into the hole, as they would be able to get all of the fairies out quickest.

Jack laid Pitch down and turned to look at Bunny and North who were speaking fervently about something. They were pretty far away from Jack, so he couldn't make out anything than the sporadic, angry, blithering that Bunny sometimes spouted out and North's occasional sentences of pure, hysterical Russian that Jack had no hope of understanding.

He couldn't even tell what they were talking about, and Jack tried not to let it bother him.

Jack was so lost in thought that he didn't hear ice behind him break.

The next thing Jack knew, he had three pikes of black sand being shoved through his chest. And they were _big_ pikes.

They were pushed in as far as they could go, twisted a little, and then yanked out. Jack heard someone coughing and it sounded really _wet_ and – oh. That was him.

Jack landed on his knees before yelling out a gargled 'Aster!'

Bunny turned and saw what happened and immediately let his boomerangs fly loose. Jack was able to see that Pitch didn't make it very far before he was, again, knocked unconscious. Aster and North ran towards Jack, and he could see Bunny's panicked look plastered across his face.

Jack wanted to reassure him, but it was currently very difficult to talk.

 _Thank god I don't have to breathe, or I would have drowned in my own blood by now._

Jack had to admit though, this hurt like _hell._

"Jackie! Jack, what do we need tuh do? Will ya heal from this? Ya won't cark it, right?"

Aster looked down at him worriedly, and Jack tried to smile, but from the reaction Bunny and North gave him, it wasn't a pretty sight.

It probably wasn't. His teeth were most likely black and slimy looking and his clothes were ruined now and – _not right now, Jack._

"B-blo…blood." Jack bubbled out. He felt some more of his black blood spill out over his mouth and down his neck when he spoke.

"He needs blood?" North questioned.

Aster immediately started to pick up Jack's body and held his head close to his neck.

"C-can't. N-not h-hum… human."

Jack felt Aster sigh and shift his head closer to his neck, offering it up. "Jack, Pooka and humans are closely related. Fair dinkum."

Jack would have laughed at Bunny's word choice if hadn't suddenly gotten _so hungry_.

Jack latched on to Bunny's throat quickly, the fur only a minor hindrance. He drank greedily, and _oh gods._

This blood was unlike anything he had ever had. It was so much… _better_ than any humans, regardless of if it was fresh or not. It was metallic, like all blood, but it held _something_ within it. Something lively. That was it…

Aster's blood held more than just fulfillment until his next meal. It held life itself.

Jack guessed that made sense, Bunny being the Easter Bunny and all.

Jack's fangs dug into Aster's neck and after a minute of what must have seemed like Jack trying to suck the rabbit completely dry, Jacks fangs retracted and he slowly lapped up the remaining blood flow with his tongue. He delicately dabbed at the puncture wounds with the tip of his tongue, and he felt Aster shudder underneath him.

Right. He just drank from Aster. And his blood had been so much better than the shit he had been surviving off of for three hundred years that Jack would be surprised if he could even go back to it.

Jack pushed away from Bunny, a tried not to look at his face, but couldn't help but notice the concern that was still written all over it.

He wondered why he was so worried over him, and why he wasn't acting like Jack had expected at all.

He didn't worry about it for a moment as Jack reached down to pull the black shirt away from the closing wounds. He didn't want the fabric to get stuck inside.

 _That_ would hurt like a son of a bitch.

Jack managed to look down at his chest and stomach. The three gaping holes that had been there were now nothing more than a bloody dent in his skin. The flesh around the wounds were still purple and yellow. They would probably stay that color for a little while as well.

Jack managed to stand after a few minutes, and with the help of Aster.

When he could stand on his own and before anyone could do anything to stop him, Jack summoned all of his magic and threw it at Pitch, freezing him to the bone.

The ice was essentially un-melting. The only person who should be able to make it melt would be him, and that wasn't happening any time soon.

"Jackie, what'd ya do to 'em?" Aster looked astonished, and North appeared to be stunned.

Jack looked up at Aster, and then at North. He vaguely heard Sandy and Tooth coming out of the hole in the ground. He also heard the chirping of thousands of little fairies and Tooth's happy ramblings.

"I froze him. It shouldn't melt. At least," Jack yawned, "not any time soon."

"How…?" North muttered.

Jack just shrugged, not really wanting to answer, and yawned again.

"Alright, alright. You still look like you're about to cark it." Aster mumbled next to his ear, as he quickly picked Jack up bridal style before he could protest.

Not that he was going to protest. Jack grinned at him blearily.

"I agree, Bunny. Let us get him to medic wing, yes?"

Jack didn't get to object going to the Pole. Instead, he fell unconscious in Aster's warm arms.


	11. Chapter 10

Everything was hazy as Jack woke up. His throat was dry and his tongue was leathery in his mouth. He felt something heavy and warm on his hand and eventually he was able to tell what it was.

Aster's hand was smooth and soft, and Jack wanted to bury his face in the fur. Jack was able to smell him, and it was _so_ good. It reminded him of warmth and spring. Something he never really got to feel.

Jack couldn't help the small whimper that escaped his mouth when he his head decided to start pounding. It didn't help that his dry throat was now constricting along with his chest. He felt his teeth lengthen to an almost painful length as they punctured his lower lip, and the black veins pushed tautly against his skin.

"Jackie?"

Jack groaned in pain and confusion when Aster pushed his wrist into Jack's mouth. What had happened? He couldn't remember much…

He wasn't able to think any longer after Aster made his teeth slice his wrist. The rabbit's blood started to trickle out and the smell hit Jack like a ton of bricks.

Pain all but forgotten, Jack launched into a sitting position and grabbed Aster's wrist painfully, but the Pooka made no indication that Jack was hurting him. Jack's mind was someplace else, and it was doubtful that he was even aware of what he was doing.

The blood eased the pain in Jack's mouth and the tightness in his throat and chest. Slowly, Jack was able to form coherent thoughts and managed to pull his fangs out of Aster's skin. It made a wet noise that Bunny couldn't help but frown at, but Jack didn't notice. Aster's frown was quickly wiped off his face once Jack started licking over the wound at a tantalizingly slow pace.

Sucking in a breath, Aster watched as the pink tip of Jack's tongue glided over the cut on his wrist, passing through the fur that was being parted by the winter spirit's long, nimble fingers.

"Frostbite… W-what are ya doin'?"

Those words made Jack freeze in his movements and jerk upwards. He stared, wide-eyed at Aster seemingly embarrassed at being caught. A slow purple tint worked its way up his pale cheeks.

"B-bunny…" Jack croaked out, his voice weak from sleep.

"How are ya feelin'?"

"Fine, I guess. I was a bit hungry but… yeah." Looking down, Jack shook his head lightly. "What happened? Why am I here?"

"You sayin' you don't remember?"

"I guess?"

Aster shook his head and sighed, clenching his fingers around Jack's. Somehow his hand had managed to find its way back to Jack's own.

"Gimme a mo', alright? I'll get North."

North? Jack looked around at his surroundings as Aster hurriedly left the room. It was themed red and green, so there was no way he _wasn't_ at the Pole. Jack sighed and leaned back against the pillows. He was still tired and… sore? His chest and stomach was throbbing.

Jack looked down at his chest to notice three small slivers of raised, light blue skin. Scars. From what, though?

A brief flash of memory flew through his mind. Pain, anger, black and grey. Deep laughter and a panicked yell. Coughing, then nothing.

Jack couldn't remember much of anything, but his memories would slowly start to come back. He supposed he should have said as much to Bunny so he wouldn't have left Jack all alone.

Jack sighed. He wanted to stand, and although that may not have been a great idea, he was determined to stand and walk around.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Jack put all of his weight on his feet before pushing off the bed. He was able to walk a few steps before he started to really hurt again. Whatever had injured him must have been really powerful. It wasn't usual for him to be this bad off.

Maybe he should have just waited for-

"What _are_ you doing?" An angry yet worried Russian accent wafted from the doorway to Jack's ears. Jack managed to give a weak smile and laugh before promptly collapsing to the floor.

Except he never landed on the ground.

Instead, he found himself sitting bridal style in Aster's arms, and his head lying against his shoulder. The smell of spring and warmth was making his head swim with happiness. But Jack tried not to get to euphoric over it. He figured Aster was still mad at him for the Easter fiasco.

"What were you doin' outta bed, Jackie?" Aster looked down at him as he carried him back over to the bed. He gently laid Jack on top and let go, much too quickly for Jack's taste.

"You are not well, Jack. You were greatly injured. Bunny has told me you don't remember, yes?"

Nodding, Jack motioned for them to sit down on the bed with him. It was a big bed with plenty of room for both North and Aster to sit down.

"I remember pain and blood, but not much else."

"Hmm… We must speak with Tooth about this. She could help regain memories without us having to recall the entire occurrence." North mainly muttered to himself.

"My memories will come back to me, just give me some time."

"We can't, Snowflake." Aster's hand was on Jack's shoulder. Jack wanted to lean into his touch.

"Why not?"

Neither of them answered. Instead, North stood up and stomped out of the room, yelling something in Russian. Jack heard a bunch of yeti's bellowing before it went silent again.

Aster looked at Jack and glanced over every part of his face. The fangs and the veins had both gone away, and his eyes were no longer the blood red. The boy had latched onto his wrist like a leach. Aster had thought it looked quite funny. He had refused to laugh though. He hadn't wanted Jack to think he was making fun of him.

Aster noticed Jack looking at him, and turned to look at him back.

"What, Jackie?"

Jack simply continued to stare at him, not saying anything. He looked away after another few seconds, and Aster saw a light purple blush make its way up his cheeks. It was a lovely color. Aster suddenly had the urge to paint the larrikin on a canvas. Or he could be the canvas.

Aster paused. Those were thoughts for another time.

Aster decided to put his paw over Jack's hand and hold it. He heard the quick intake of breath from Jack, and decided to act like he hadn't noticed. It was silent in the room except for the faint sound of elves and Yeti working down the hall.

Aster spared a glance in Jack's direction and found that the winter spirit was falling asleep. He looked as though he was trying to fight it as his eyelids kept fluttering.

"Snowflake, go to sleep. North an' Tooth will be here in a bit. I'll wake ya up when they're here."

Aster glided his hand over Jack's forehead to sweep his white locks away from his eyes. Jack seemed to let the fight go out of him, and his eyes stopped fluttering.

Jack's mouth was open slightly in his sleep induced state, and Aster wanted to try to kiss him. He decided against it. It wouldn't be good to wake the boy up like that.

Not yet, at least. He hoped.

* * *

It wasn't long after Jack fell asleep that Tooth and North walked into the room.

"He is sleeping?" North gestured to Jack.

"Yeah, fell asleep not long after ya left."

"Hush," Tooth waved her hands at them. "I need to concentrate."

Tooth fluttered over to Jack and placed a delicate hand over his eyes. Aster saw some of her magic flowing out of her fingertips. It was a light blue and dark green. It seemed to make Jack's skin glow, and the magic lit up his head from the inside. There were flashes of color underneath his skin as his memories regarding Pitch were returned to him.

Jack suddenly woke up sputtering for air, clenching at his chest with his hands. His eyes were looking around wildly, and his hair looked frazzled. His teeth were long and sharp, and his eyes were switching between blood red and ice blue. Deep growls were making their way out of his throat.

Aster was filled with awe at the boy. Ever since Jack had managed to completely stop Pitch and helped them capture him, any issues Aster had with him because of Easter had essentially vanished. He figured Jack still thought that he was upset with him over it. Aster knew that it hadn't been the boys fault though. Not completely anyways.

They all played a part in their own destruction. It wasn't fair to put it all on the winter spirit's shoulders.

"Oh my Gods." Jack had finally stopped growling and managed to croak that out. His eyes stopped flashing between colors and settled on blue, and his teeth were still sharper than normal but back to their original length.

"Where is he?" Jack asked, voice filled with impatience.

"We have him in the globe room. We have Yeti's guarding him." North told him calmly. "We were waiting for you to awake, however you couldn't remember anything. So, Tooth came."

Gesturing at Tooth, North said, "She helped you gain memories quicker."

Nodding, Jack smiled weakly at her. She gave him a light smile back that was filled with warmth.

"Jack," North started, "Pitch is melting already."

Jack looked at him sharply. "I need to see him then."

"No! You aren't ready yet. You're still hurting!" Tooth looked adamant that Jack stayed in the medic wing.

"Tooth, Jackie here isn't a doll. He's a strong little larrikin." Aster looked at her with his arms crossed. "Besides, if he can't walk there, I can always carry 'em."

Jack glanced at Aster and blushed.

"Da, Tooth. We are not strong enough to face Pitch again. And he is strong from the children who are still afraid of him. We have no choice but to ask this of Jack."

They all three looked at Jack, and he grinned at them.

"Of course I'll help. Just take me to him."

* * *

Pitch was indeed melting. His fingers were poking out of the ice and the tip of one of his boots were sticking out as well. There was a huge puddle of water that had been shed from the ice. Jack could see Pitch's yellow eyes glaring at him from behind the layers of ice.

Aster was carrying him, and gently placed him on his feet in front of the ice, his hands still holding onto Jack's upper arms to keep him steady.

"Alright then." Jack muttered. "Better get to work. It shouldn't take long." Jack started to touch the ice, and the others could all see his power flowing into it. The ice immediately stopped dripping, and the cracks started to disappear. The ice was growing before their eyes, and it started to glow a dark blue. The temperature in the globe room seemed to drop greatly, and Aster could see his breath in front of his face.

Jack started to shudder beneath Bunny's grasp, and after another minute or so, he collapsed back against him. Jack groaned.

"Man, that shouldn't have taken so much out of me." Laughing, he said, "He must have really injured me, huh?"

"Alright, Jack-o. Let's get you back to bed, yah?"

"Okay."

Tooth and North were left in the Globe Room, watching Bunny and Jack leave.

* * *

"Come on guys!" Jack laughed as he twirled in the air. "It's not much further."

"Oh, hold it together, Aster…" If Bunny's fur didn't cover him completely, his skin would likely be green. "She'll be apples, she'll be apples…"

"Ha ha! Bunny, you will _never_ get used to the old sleigh, will you?" North snorted as he followed Jack to his fortress. He whipped the reins and the reindeer blasted off even faster through the air.

Tooth was sitting happily in one of the seats, patting Bunny's leg sympathetically. Sandy was dozing off on top of the ice block that is Pitch. The ice was so thick you could hardly see the Nightmare King inside.

Now that Jack was healthy again, the ice had easily maintained its coldness. It hadn't dripped once, and not a single peep had been heard out of Pitch.

The third time Jack had to re-freeze Pitch, they had been able to hear him. He had let go a string of curses but ultimately sounded terrified, so the guardians hadn't been very intimidated by the man.

"Woohoo!" Jack did a few flips through the air before they crossed over a small Nepali town. The people below didn't notice them for obvious reasons, as they were mostly adults.

Aster couldn't help but forget some of his nausea as they flew over the mountains that had the sun ricocheting off of the crevices and huge spikes of ice and rock. It was like they were flying through rainbows, and the lights seemed to make everyone a little more joyful. Except for maybe Pitch.

Everyone's eyes widened once they reached the mountain that the humans called Mount Everest. Jack's fortress wasn't anything like they were expecting. Aster could make out the slight shimmer in the air surrounding the castle that indicated a shield of sorts. He couldn't help but wonder how Jack had been able to make something like that.

The fortress wasn't just a fortress. It was a home. It looked mighty and dangerous, but the winter spirits that the guardians were able to spot on the outside either chatting or flying around looked comfortable and happy.

There were some more dangerous looking winter spirits that were looping around the mountain, likely on guard. It didn't take long for one of them to see the approaching group. The next thing they knew, a loud, deep howl penetrated the air. All of the winter spirits and sprites immediately stopped what they were doing and watched as Jack moved towards the fortress. He waved his hands and staff to form a temporary ice platform that would allow North to land the sleigh.

Once the rickety machine had stopped moving, Aster got off as quickly as he could. Tooth stayed behind to wake up Sandy, which took a few minutes.

"My, my, Jack." North looked around appreciatively. "This is quite amazing, da? Very good, very good." North started muttering to himself and walked around the outside of the front while the other guardians started talking to the other winter spirits, trying to acquaint themselves with Jack's people.

There were a few of the huge wolves, the Amarok, walking around. There were also little tiny sprites fluttering through the sky, holding little pieces of parchment. There were two Ice giants arguing a few feet away from everyone, and it looked like it was over a pair of swords.

"Rognak and Gran…" Jack huffed as he walked over to them while swinging his staff around. "What are you two fighting about now?"

The ice giant that was tallest with blue etchings traveling down his skin exclaimed, "Rognak is right, but Gran says he not right!"

"Gran is right, Rognak is no!" The other one with the spikes of ice coming off his head growled.

"'Rognak is no'…?" Jack chuckled. "You guys need to work on your conversation skills a bit. But seriously," Jack's face lost some of the amusement. "What's going on?"

The one named Gran, at least Aster assumed it was Gran, sighed and said, "Rognak says his swords these are, but they not!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Again with the swords? Why don't you carve your names into them or something? It would make everyone's lives a lot easier."

Gran and Rognak started growling at each other. "Okay guys, wait." Jack stepped between them. "No fighting now. Keep the growling to a minimum."

"They _Gran's_ swords, Host. Not Rognak's."

"No, Rognak's they is!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Ha! Gran trick Rognak! They is Gran's now!"

" _Enough._ " Jack's voice had growled it out, and frost bellowed around the three in a tight circle. The wind had momentarily knocked the two giants off balance. "I've just gotten back, when I should have been back days ago. I will not trifle with this right now."

Jack's eyes were a dark blue tinged with red, and that made the two giants freeze in their spots.

"We sorry, Host."

"Y-yeah, sorry very much."

Jack sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's fine, guys. But Rognak… have you checked in the caves beneath the fortress? I know you go down there to sleep sometimes…"

Rognak's tiny eyes suddenly got very large. "N-no, Host. Rognak no check there yet. He do so now." The giant took off for the castle entrance and was gone within a few heartbeats.

"Host, Rognak in trouble…?" Gran asked.

"No, I just figured that would be where they most likely are. I'm lenient about how you guys spend your hours while on watch, but I'm most certainly not stupid." Jack raised an eyebrow at Gran.

"Besides, why were you two here arguing when it's…?" Jack looks at the sun and its position, "your time to be standing guard?"

Gran suddenly looked timid. "Sorry, Host."

"It's fine. Just don't let it happen again."

Gran took off at much the same speed as Rognak. Jack sighed, again, and turned around to find the guardians to all be looking at him in something akin to amazement.

"What?" Jack asked, confused.

"Nothin', mate. Just didn't peg ya for a commandin' sort." Aster explained.

Jack smiled. "Yeah, okay then." Jack started walking into his fortress and the guardians followed.

* * *

Jack had a few of the ice spirits to use their magic to carry Pitch into the dungeons. They placed him in the brightest one, which always had some form of light swathing the room and its corners. There was no way for him to get through the bars due to the spell Jack had one of the satyrs cast, and no shadows for him to hide in because of how much light was in the room.

Pitch was here to stay until told otherwise. And as far as Jack was concerned, he could stay in that block of ice for a few centuries before he even _considered_ melting him.

Pitch shouldn't have stabbed him. Maybe Jack would have been a little nicer to the Nightmare King.

Aster and North looked impressed by the cells, and Tooth and Sandy looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Who are all of these other spirits in here, Jack?" Tooth fluttered down the hallways with the others.

"They are winter spirits who wouldn't abide by my rules. Which is, basically, don't kill any humans purposefully unless I've said so, and don't mess with my weather patterns."

Tooth nodded. Sandy just continued to look uncomfortable yet thoughtful.

After the tours of the castle was done, they all met in the throne room, where Jack sat in his throne tiredly.

"Listen, guys." Jack yawned. "I've got a lot of work to do here, and a lot of things that I need to talk to my people about. If you all want to stay and listen for a while, fine. If you don't, also fine. Just know that after the meeting I'm going to take a week long rest."

"I better go then, Jack. You'll come by and visit, right?" Tooth looked at him hopefully.

"Of course."

"Good." She smiled and fluttered out with a wave of her hand.

Sandy also indicated that he had to leave as he had to make sure all of the children were having good dreams and not nightmares. Jack bid him farewell and the golden man was gone.

"Jack, I'm afraid I must head off as well. Much preparation to attend to for Christmas, and besides…" North chuckled sheepishly, "Meetings are somewhat boring, da?"

"You said it, not me." Jack laughed. "Bye, North. I'll swing by the Pole some time, okay?"

North grinned and walked out of the throne room. Jack saw through a window the sleigh lifting off before going through a portal.

Jack was well aware that Aster was still in the throne room, and that it was just the two of them. Jack had thought that he would have been one of the first to leave, but the fact the rabbit stayed made Jack very curious. He still thought Bunny was mad at him.

"I think I want to stick around for the meeting, Snowflake." Aster said slowly and deeply. He was looking right into Jack's eyes as he said it, and Jack couldn't help but tremble in his throne a little.

 _He's been calling me a lot of little nicknames… Is h-he not upset with me anymore?_ Jack thought.

He couldn't help but be a little hopeful.

* * *

The last of the winter spirits filed out of the throne room, and again, Jack and Aster were the only ones left.

Sinking low into the throne, Jack let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He was dead tired, and he found he wasn't really thinking straight.

"Snowflake, how are you-"

"Why are you still calling me those little pet names, Bunny?" Jack interrupted.

"Why?" Aster blinked at him. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because," Jack started, "You could still be mad at me for Easter, and for kind of betraying you and-"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there, mate." Aster huffed out a deep laugh. "I'm not mad at ya anymore. I was, yeah, but you just made a blue. Besides," Aster stepped closer to Jack, who was still on the throne. "You didn't betray us, you saved us."

Jack's eyes widened and a blush started to spread across his cheeks. The fact that he almost couldn't understand what Aster had just said flew right over him as the Rabbit stepped up again to the throne.

Jack could see the darker green flecks that littered Bunny's eyes, and he could see each individual hair that lay against his skin. He could smell him, too. And boy, had he missed that smell.

Jack didn't realize when he'd gotten so used to the rabbit's smell, only that now, whenever he is near Jack feels like he's home.

Jack almost gasped when Aster got on his knees in front of the throne. He was now eye level with Jack, and they never broke eye contact. Aster's hand gently laid itself on his knee, and squeezed lightly.

"Jack, you are…" Aster seemed to not know what to say, and the look in his eyes was so intense.

"What I want to say is that you're a cheeky bastard, and I consider ya to be my cobber."

Jack froze. "What-?" Shaking his head and leaning forward, Jack let out a small disbelieving laugh.

"Okay, I'm not completely stupid so I know what you meant by 'cheeky bastard.'" Jack said in an Australian accent. "But… a cobber? I fix your shoes? The ones you don't even _wear_?"

Aster's eyes widened and shook his own head. "No, mate. Cobber means friend. You're a good friend."

Jack's smile faded a bit, and he couldn't help the feeling of hurt and despair that washed over him.

 _Only friends, huh…_ Jack wouldn't say something like that aloud though. If Aster only wanted to be friends, then Jack would take it, even if it would hurt sometimes.

Aster, however, seemed to notice the look of sadness that Jack tried to hide.

"Jack, you're a real good friend. And if someone had said a year ago that I would consider ya as such, I woulda clocked 'em upside their head an' told 'em to 'rack off.'" Aster leaned even closer to Jack. They were so close that if Jack moved even a few inches forward, then they would be kissing.

"But you're more than just that."

Jack felt like he couldn't look away. Aster's eyes were just _so_ green, and his fur looked _so_ soft.

"Do you wanna be with me, Jack?" Aster looked hopeful and even a little worried. "You wanna give us a burl?"

Jack couldn't form any words. He just stared. After a minute or so of opening and closing his mouth, all he could do is nod and lean forward while wrapping his arms around the rabbit's neck.

Jack let out a huge breath he had been holding once Aster held him back.

"Yes." Jack laughed a little. "I thought that because of Easter, you wouldn't want to be with me like that."

"Of course I do, Snowflake." Aster nuzzled Jack's head. "You're an attractive bloke, and powerful at that. You make me feel more alive than I have in millennia."

"This is more than I had dared hope for, Aster." Jack leaned back to look into his eyes. "What do you say that you and I make our way to a more private area, yeah?"

Aster looked surprised, but agreed none the less. "Let's go then."

* * *

2022: 10 years later

"Are you ready for this, Jackie?"

"I can't put this off for much longer, Aster. It's been over ten years."

Sighing Jack took the tooth box from Tooth who was looking at him happily. "I know that you've been hesitant to open it and see your memories, but I really do think that it will be good for you."

"I agree with Tooth on this. Jack needs to see memories and know his past." North sat down in one of the many red chairs that were circled around the fireplace. Aster and Jack were sitting next to each other on a love seat, and Tooth was fluttering nearby.

The sound of sand swishing together made Jack look towards Sandy. The little golden man looked intrigued at the box and indicated as much with symbols above his head.

"Okay, okay. Alright." Jack placated them with a hand motion.

Slowly, Jack pressed a tiny golden button on the side of the box. Suddenly the teeth were revealed, and Jack's mind was taken to another time.

Jack came out of his memories, head reeling from all of the new information.

He'd had a sister. _A sister._

He could hardly believe it. And he had saved her!

He felt Aster place a hand on his shoulder gently. "What happened, love?"

Jack realized that he was crying. He quickly wiped the tears with the back of his hand and smiled at the other guardians. They were all looking at him expectantly, albeit worriedly.

Jack thought it was time that he told them everything. Everything about his human life and the three hundred years after he had died. And now he could with his memories returned.

Jack thought about Moki and what he would be saying right now. Probably something witty yet insightful.

Jack smiled wistfully and said, "I know why I was chosen to be a guardian."

So he told them his story.

* * *

2512: 500 years later

"Jack, I don't have time for this! I'm flat out like a lizard drinking, an' Easter is in less than a week!"

"Five centuries we've been together and you still say things that I don't understand." Jack tutted and shook his head. "How do you do that?"

"I don't know." Aster looked exasperated. Tiny little googies were crawling around his lap and spreading paint everywhere.

Jack couldn't help but laugh at the little streaks of green and purple and pink that was left on the rabbit's fur.

"Would you like some help, Cottontail?"

Aster looked up at him gratefully. "That'd be right helpful of ya."

Jack started to help paint the eggs, and if the patterns seemed to look like frost, Aster never said a word.

After a few hours of painting and organizing, Jack and Aster were finished for the day.

Sighing, Aster looked over at Jack. "What would I do without ya, Snowflake."

"Don't ask that. You should be asking what you are going to do _with_ me." Jack waggled his eyebrows at Bunny playfully before raising into the air with a gust of wind.

"Why don't you come find out the answer, hmm?" Jack took off towards a tunnel that leads to Aster's den.

"Oh, I'm gonna find out, all right."

Aster raced after him.

* * *

 **That's it!**

 **I really hoped you enjoyed it, and that you'll stay tuned to other works I'll eventually put out.**

 **I'm currently working on another bunnyfrost fic, and it's a bit darker. So if you're into that sort of thing, keep a watch out!**

 **Thanks for all of the support and feedback. I really appreciate it!**

 **Thanks again for giving this story a shot.**


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